The Truth Never Set Me Free
by LifeIsJustAGame
Summary: JJ has made some stupid decisions in her life, but can she finally make the right one? With all the drama that's going on around her, how the hell is she supposed to know what's the right thing to do? ADULT CONTENT. Sequel to PIJASC
1. This Is Just The Beginning

_**Well hello there! I said I wasn't going to do a sequel for a while, but guess what... I lied XD I'm so grateful for all of your reviews and your amazing response, and it's really spurred me on to write more! Obviously my school work is more important, but I will upload whenever possible (: please keep reading and reviewing, and I apologise in advance for all of the spelling and grammar mistakes :D one more thing; all of you who are over 15(?) please check out my one shot "Those Three Words Change Everything", which is about Harry and Louis. It has gay sexual content; you have been warned! Oh, okay, last thing; I LOVE YOU GUYS!**_

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><p><span>This Is Just The Beginning<span>

"_COULD YOU MAKE IT ANY MORE OBVIOUS THAT YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH MY BEST FRIEND?" He roars in my face, finally admitting what's been bothering him. He grabs hold of my arms and shakes me. "I LOVE YOU, YOU STUPID GIRL, AND HOW DO YOU REPAY ME; BY FALLING IN LOVE WITH MY FUCKING BEST FRIEND! DO YOU EVEN FUCKING LOVE ME?"_

"_I… I'm sorry, Harry..." I'm scared now; I've never seen him this angry before. He shakes me again._

"_Sorry? SORRY? Is that the best you can do?" He kisses me, full of anger and passion, and it's the best kiss I've ever had. His hands slip down my body to my hips and he pulls me closer to him. I wrap my arms around his neck and shiver as his cold body presses against mine. He pulls away and looks at me through the rain, his eyes full of anger and pain._

"_Harry, I…" He presses his cold, wet lips to mine again, silencing me._

"_Do you love me?" he shouts at me, the rain and thunder drowning him out. "Well? Do you?"_

"_Yes!" I shout back. His grip on me tightens and he kisses me again, so passionately that I might faint. Then he pulls away._

"_But you love Louis too, don't you?" he shouts, tears in his eyes and pain his voice._

"_I…" I don't know what to say. "I… Yes. I do love him." He backs away from me. "But I love you more! Harry!"_

"_That's not enough, Jordan. I can't share you; especially with __him__." He backs away again, tears spilling down his cheeks and anger filling his bright green eyes. "We… We can't do this anymore. We're over."_

_"No, Harry… Please don't do this! Please!" He runs into the house and I fall to my knees. "Harry?"_

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><p>"<em>You… you love me?" Louis says bitterly, and I just stare blankly at him. Oh fuck… "Well…?"<em>

"_I…" I don't know what to say. Why is he asking me? He obviously heard the argument… "Yes." His eyes widen in shock and his warm hands grip mine._

"_Why didn't you tell me?" he sighs, the sound of the rain almost drowning him out._

"_Because… because I love Harry too." His name is like daggers in my heart, and I sob quietly. "And now I've lost him…" Louis just looks at me, unsure of what to say, and then I see a sudden realisation spark in his eyes. _

"_That's__ why he's been mad at me?" He curses angrily and drops my hands. "Because you love me too?"_

"_I… I'm sorry." I say, looking down at my feet. "I never wanted this to happen!"_

"_Well it did! You led me on for ages and then got with my best friend, drove a wedge between me and him, and then broke his heart?" His rant comes out of nowhere and my head jerks up in surprise._

"_I'm so sorry, Lou." I reach for him and he backs away. "No, please… not you as well, Lou!"_

"_Don't call me that." He shakes his head and anger flashes in his eyes. I suddenly feel empty inside; I've lost him too. "Everything was fine until you came along. Just go home, Jordan." He turns and walks away, and something breaks inside me. __**I have to get away.**_

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><p>"Jordan, get up!" My Dad yells through my bedroom door. I jolt awake and shake the bad dream from my head, and then glance at my alarm clock; 7.30am. I have 45 minutes to get ready for college… my last day of college.<p>

"Okay!" I shout back. _Please let that be the end of the conversation. _Sure enough, I hear my Dad's uncharacteristically light footsteps as he walks away from my door and down the stairs. I throw my duvet back and try to summon the will to actually get out of bed; today is just going to be one big, fat, tear-filled goodbye.

"Are you up yet?" Dad hollers at me from the bottom of the stairs.

"Yep" I lie and jump out of bed. Then I look at my calendar and instantly feel like jumping back into bed. _Today is…_

"Jordan? Chloe's here!" Dad yells, interrupting my train of thought. "Shall I send her up?"

"Yeah, please." I grab my clothes and head for my en suite, and just as I'm pulling my jeans on, I hear my bedroom door open.

"Where are you?" Chloe asks, and when I simply reply "Bathroom!", she laughs. I finish getting ready, and when I walk out of the bathroom Chloe is sat on my bed reading the latest Kerrang! magazine.

"You're early!" I say, making her jump. "And make yourself at home, why don't you?"

"I have to talk to you about something. And, yes, I will." She laughs and pulls me into a hug.

"Careful of the baby, Clo!" I pull away from her and place my hand on her stomach. "Not long now!"

"Yeah, I know." She sighs, fear weighing down each of her words. "I'm so scared!"

"I know, but I'm here for you!" I wrap my arms around her shoulders. "Well, as much as I can be, anyway."

After a lot of deliberating, Chloe _finally _decided that she's going to move to London with Niall and go to UCL (University College London). I've had offers from a few universities, (lots of uni's are desperate for people like me who are planning on doing a Maths Degree) but I haven't accepted any yet; I still have a few months left (well, one and a half…) to make a decision, but I just don't know… If I go to Keele University, which is one of the closest to here (and Beth is going there, so I'd know someone, at least), then I stay with my Dad, which is something I really don't want to do. Or I go and stay with Niall and Chloe and go to UCL with her and Gemma, or I move completely and go to the Mathematics Institute in Warwick. I chose that uni back in February when I just wanted to get away from everybody, which was stupid, but I just thought that I could have a fresh start…

"Hello? Anybody there?" Chloe laughs, waving something in front of my face.

"Oops; spaced out again. Sorry!" I smile. Then I realise she's waving a piece of paper in front of my face, and I snatch it out of her hand and read out the first thing that catches my eye. "The 7th of August? What's that?"

"Think about it, douche-bag." She rolls her eyes, and when I stare at her blankly she points to her belly.

"Oh my God; is that the due date?" I grin, and when she nods I laugh and hug her again. "That's less than a month!"

"I know." She smiles and takes both my hands in hers. "We need to talk. First; will you be the godmother?"

"Oh my God; yes!" I screech and hug her. Again. "Oh my God. Yay!"

"You didn't see that coming?" She laughs. "Oh, one more thing; I want you to stop being stupid and go to UCL with me. You can live with us; you don't have to live there the whole 3 or 4 years if you don't want to, whatever makes you happy. Just… please, Twin?" This isn't the first conversation we've had about this, and I'm sure it won't be the last. She knows why I haven't decided yet; it's too close to Harry and Louis.

The day after that horrible night when I ran away and sought refuge at Beth's house, Harry kept phoning me, and when I eventually gave in and answered he convinced me to meet up with him. We talked things over, and after realising that Louis is too big a factor in the relationship to try again, we went our separate ways. We haven't really spoken much since then, and after a few days they both went back to their flat in London, and I haven't spoken to them since. Liam went back as well, Zayn stayed with Gemma for a few weeks, and Niall stayed with Chloe, but after a few weeks they both went back to London, and then they all went to L.A to shoot their music video and record the album. Until today, that is; today they are returning to England, and where's the first place they're going to? Yep, that's right; this little old village of Holmes Chapel. _Fabulous._

"Please, Jord." Chloe pleads, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Look, I'll think about it, okay. C'mon; we've gotta leave or we'll be late." I kiss her on the cheek and then jump up and grab my bag. "It's show-time."

_**So there it is; my very short first chapter XD hope you liked it; please review and tell me what you think! Plus I'm kinda making this up as I go along, so I'd really love to know where you guys think I should go with the story! (: thank you for reading; I really appreciate it xXx**_


	2. I Guess This Is Goodbye

_**Hey guys! Thank you for all of your reviews, and everyone seems to be glad that I've written a sequel, so I'm happy XD please keep reading and reviewing! :D**_

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><p><span>I Guess This Is Goodbye<span>

"Well…" I sigh, trying not to cry. "I guess this is a goodbye."

"Yeah." My friends pull me into a group hug. We're all going to different uni's; one of my closest friends, Ayley, is moving to _Edinburgh, _for God's sake!

"We still have the holidays, you guys." Chloe smiles at us. "We're not moving for two weeks, so we'll have to meet up next week!"

"Definitely." Ayley says. Everybody nods, and then we embrace one more time before all going our separate ways. All except for me and Chloe, who are the very last ones to leave.

"We should go…" I sigh. "Come back to mine?" She nods, and we walk back to my car in silence. When we get there, I smile; it's been 2 months, but I still have to smile every time I see my brand new, shiny, midnight-blue Audi TT.

"Are you going to react like that every time you see the car?" Chloe laughs, raising her eyebrows at me.

"Shut up." I stick my tongue out at her. "You know how long I've wanted one; they are my favourite car ever, and I was well gutted when Harry got one first!"

"Fabulous. Stop drooling and unlock the car so I can get in." I stick my tongue out at her again and do as she says. We both slide into the car, and when I turn the engine on, the radio comes on.

"And now for Zane Lowe's record of the week; One Direction's new song, Gotta Be You." The song starts playing, and Chloe and I just look at each other.

"It's a sign." She says before I can say anything. I laugh sarcastically and start driving home.

"Yeah; a sign that I need to stop listening to the radio."

"No, you douche-bag; you know what today is, don't you?"

"Yeah; they're coming back. Here. Yay. Excuse me while I contain my excitement in anticipation of the awkwardness that will undoubtedly follow their arrival." I say sarcastically.

"Don't be so cynical." She says as we turn the last corner. "Everything will be fine."

"Oh, really?" We come to a stop outside my house and are greeted by a familiar orange campervan. I turn the engine off and turn to Chloe, ready to give her a sarcastic comment.

"Don't. Say. Anything." She holds up her hands. "Take a deep breath, get out of the car, and just do what feel right." I'm about to spit out a sarcastic retort when she spots Niall and squeals. She climbs out of the car and he runs over and pulls her into his arms. I'm debating whether to stay in the car, try and sneak past everyone and run in the house, or just suck it up and face the music, when I'm startled by a knock on the window. I wind it down and smile.

"Nice car. Gonna get out of it anytime soon?" Zayn laughs.

"Yeah, hang on." I wind the window back up and get out of the car. As soon as I've locked it Zayn pulls me into a hug.

"I missed you!" He says, kissing me on the cheek. "How are you?"

"I missed you too, Zayn." I pull away and smile. "Good thanks; you?" He doesn't get a chance to answer; Liam runs over and gathers me into his arms.

"Jordan!" He picks me up and spins me around.

"Liam!" I laugh and he puts me down.

"I missed you so much!" He hugs me tight and I laugh.

"I missed you too, Liam!" I smile. Out of all of them, Liam is the one I've spoken to the most; we've become really close (in a strictly best-friend way), and I'm glad he's been there for me. He kisses my cheek and then goes to say hello to Chloe, and Niall comes over and smiles at me.

"Nialler!" I hold out my arms for a hug and he obliges.

"Hi." He says brightly. "I'm so glad we're back; I've missed you and Chloe so much!"

"We missed you too; all of you." I give him a quick squeeze and then pull away. I get the sudden feeling that someone is watching me, and when I turn around I'm met with a mess of curly hair and deep green eyes.

"Harry." I greet him, unsure of what to do. Then Louis walks over and stands next to Harry, and we stand in an awkward triangle, unsure of how to greet each other. _Well this is going to be fun…_

"Hey Louis." I say timidly. His grey-blue eyes shine with the words he's dying to say, but instead he just nods at me.

"I'm sorry."

"I missed you, JJ."

"We missed you." We all speak at the same time, and then we laugh.

"As I was saying," Louis smiles, his warm Doncaster accent striking me to the core. "We missed you."

"I missed you too. Both of you." I look at them both and hold out my hands. "Friends?" They both nod and each take one of my hands, and then Louis puts his arm around Harry and pulls us both into a hug. Unfortunately, this reminds me of the day my Mum died, which was the last time they hugged me like this, and I have to hold back tears. I'm so glad that we have sorted things out; I haven't really spoken to them for ages, and I really hope we can put this all behind us and start again.

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><p>"So, how long are you back for?" I ask as I pour us all a glass of Coke. Liam is sat on a barstool in the kitchen, and everybody else it sat outside soaking up the July sunshine.<p>

"Well, we're definitely here for a least two weeks, and before we go back to London everybody is going back to visit their parents for a week. Niall is gonna go back to London with Chloe though 'cause he's already been home."

"Oh, cool." I put the bottle of Coke away in the fridge, and when I turn around Liam is stood right in front of me.

"I have to tell you something." He says, but before he can say anything else, Louis walks in.

"Hey guys; just came to see why the service is taking so long." He winks.

"Okay, I'll start taking the drinks out." Liam puts most of the drinks on a tray, and just before he leaves he gives me a look as if to say "we're not finished." Louis goes to pick up the remaining drinks, but then he turns and looks at me.

"H… how are you?" He asks, shifting uncomfortably. I'm about to answer when he suddenly rushes up to me and gathers me into his arms. "I'm such an ass; I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have been so mean to you, and I shouldn't have been avoiding you. Please don't hate me."

"I don't hate you." I say, refusing to pull away from him. "I… I thought you hated me."

"No." He picks me up and puts me on a stool so that our eyes are level. "I don't hate you, Jordy." He calls me by the nickname that my Dad usually calls me (which I've told Dad to stop saying), but instead of getting annoyed I actually find it really sweet. I look into his eyes, and all the old feelings (that I've been trying to get rid of for the past five months) wash over me, and I feel like crying. My eyes fill with tears, and Louis' eyes fill with concern. "What's wrong?"

"I've made such a mess of things, Lou." I get off of the stool and walk away from him. "I'm such a bitch."

"Stop it." He grabs hold of my arms and spins me around. "Let's just forget about it, okay?"

"Yeah." _Lies._

"Good. Come on; let's go outside." He kisses my cheek, picks up the drinks, and then walks out. I follow him, and when I catch Harry's eyes, exactly the same thing happens; I remember exactly why I fell in love with him in the first place, and all the old feelings come back. _Oh for fuck sake…_

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><p><em><strong>Well, hope you like it! Please review and tell me what you think! :) xXx<strong>_


	3. Reunion

_**Hey guys! :D I just want to say thanks to my friends who put up with me, and are always helpful and constructive in their reviews; Gemma, Emma, Beth, Abii and of course my very gorgeous Twin :3 back to the story; it's interesting to hear what people think, especially about who JJ should be with, and what Liam is going to say to her ;D thank you for your reviews, and please keep reading and reviewing! :D**_

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><p><span>Reunion<span>

"And then they chucked me in the sea!" Niall exclaims, and everybody laughs. We're all sat around a campfire in my back garden, and the boys are talking about their time in L.A. Chloe and Niall are curled up together on my right, Zayn and Liam are sat underneath a blanket on the other side of the fire, and Harry and Louis are sat on the bench together; Louis is sat closest to me, and Harry is sat with his legs across Louis' lap.

"Oi!" A marshmallow hits me on the side of the head, and when I look up, Liam is grinning at me.

"What was that for, asshole?" I laugh and throw it back at him; he ducks and it hits Zayn on the nose.

"Oi; leave me out of this!" Zayn smiles, but he throws the marshmallow onto the fire.

"Spoilsport." Liam mutters, and Zayn flicks his ear. "Ow!"

"Don't be rude, then." Zayn grins. Liam huffs and starts playing with his phone. Seconds later, my phone buzzes; "**Need to talk to you. Can we go inside for a minute? L x**" I look at him, and when he raises an eyebrow I nod at him.

"I'm going to get some drinks; does anybody want anything?" I ask as I get up off of the beanbag I was sat on. Everybody says that they want a beer, except for Chloe, because she can't drink. "I'll make you a special hot chocolate, then. Oi, Liam; to make up for throwing things at me, you can come and help with the drinks."

"Fine." He huffs and then starts to get up.

"I'll go." Louis says. Liam starts to protest but Louis mouths something at him, which I can't understand because I'm shit at lip-reading.

"Okay, I'll stay here." Liam says quickly and then he sits down and covers himself with the blanket again. I don't bother saying anything, and I quickly send Liam a text: "**We'll talk later :) xx" **Then Louis grabs my hand and pulls me into the house.

"What are you doing?" I say, pulling my hand away from him.

"Helping you!" He smiles and grabs a load of beers out of the fridge. _What is wrong with me?_ I flick the kettle on and grab a mug out of the cupboard.

"Louis…" I stop, unsure of what to say, and then carry on making Chloe's hot chocolate.

"Do you…uh…" Louis pauses. "Do you want me to take the beers outside?" _That's __so__ not what he was going to say._

"Yeah, please." I sigh. _What's __going on here…?_

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><p><strong>{Louis' POV}<strong>

"Okay." I put all of the beers on a tray, purposely leaving mine and Jordan's behind, and then I go outside. I slowly walk over to the group, trying to focus on not dropping anything, but all I can think about is Jordan. _I'm still in love with her. _This is ridiculous; I've spent the last 5 months trying to stop loving her, and I got to the point where I'd fooled myself into believing that I didn't love her. I even dated Eleanor for a month, but it just didn't work. And then there's Harry; he's made no attempt to get over Jordan. In fact, I think he's convinced that she's going to fall right back into his arms. _I don't believe that._

"Don't drop anything." Jordan whispers in my ear, scaring the shit out of me.

"Don't make me jump then, moron!" I laugh, completely avoiding her eyes. She walks past me, hands the mug of hot chocolate to Chloe, and as she walks back I start to say something but she rushes past me into the house. I quickly hand out the beers, and then I head back inside the house before anybody can trap me in a conversation. When I walk into the kitchen Jordan is stood with her back to me, and I'm about to say something when I hear a small sound; a sniff. _Is she crying? _I slowly walk up to her and pull her into a hug, and she melts into my arms.

"Why are you crying, Jordy?" She shakes her head and I hug her tighter; I'm really worried now. "C'mon; what's up?"

"I…I…I don't know what to do!" She sobs and pushes me away, and I gather her up in my arms. She starts struggling and I place her on the kitchen table so that her eyes are level with mine. She tries to look away but I put my hands on either side of her face and force her to look into my eyes.

"What. Is. Wrong?" I ask, but she doesn't answer; instead her beautiful green eyes fill with tears. I'm really worried, and I hate seeing her like this.

"I just… I'm so confused!" She cries, and I look around to see if anyone can hear. Luckily they're too far away from the door to hear us.

"What kind of confused?" I raise my eyebrows, purposely misunderstanding her in the hopes that she will laugh.

"Not that kind of confused, you dummy!" She tries not to laugh and pushes my hands away. "I'm confused about you."

"Oh." I take a step back and try to conceal the way my heart is trying to jump out of my chest. The more sensible side of me is saying "_Having this conversation right now is a really bad idea_", while the less-sensible side of me is saying "_She still loves me!_" over and over again. Jordan's bottom lip quivers, and I realise that I've upset her by pulling away. A single tear trickles down her rosy cheeks, and I step forward and wrap my arms around her. She rests her head on my chest and wraps her legs around my waist, and we just stay like that for a while.

"Why is your heart beating so fast, Lou?" She whispers, and I sigh. _Time to face the music, Louis; it's now or never._

"Why do you think, Jordy?" I whisper.

"Do you still love me?" She hesitates before looking up at me with bright eyes.

"What do you want me to say, Jordan?" I try to pull away from her but she hangs onto me.

"Tell me the truth, Lou. Please." She cups my cheek in her hands. "You still love me, don't you?"

"Yes." I pierce her eyes with mine, gauging her reaction, but her face doesn't give away any emotion. "Do you still love me?" Her eyes flash, and then she smiles at me and strokes my cheek.

"Louis, I…"

"Hey guys…" Liam walks into the kitchen, and when he spots how we're stood he stops dead. "What's going on?"

"Uh…" Jordan removes her legs from around my waist and pulls away from me. "N.. uh, nothing."

"Oh, shit." Liam's cheeks flush, and Jordan hops down from the table. "I'm sorry for interrupting you guys…"

"You didn't interrupt anything." Jordan walks over to him and takes his hand. "What did you want?"

"Uh, to see what was taking so long, and to see if I could finally talk to you, but maybe I should go…" He trails off.

"No, no, it's fine; I'll go back outside." I push past them and just as I'm leaving, Jordan calls me back.

"Louis." She says softly, and when I turn to her she says one word to me, a word that is enough to make my pulse race and my world turn upside down. "Yes."

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><p><strong>{JJ's POV} <strong>

I watch as Louis's eyes widen in shock, and then colour floods his cheeks. He trips out of the doorway, and then I turn to Liam, who is regarding me with suspicion and confusion.

"What was that about?" He asks me.

"Don't worry." I shake my head and squeeze his hand. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Don't change the subject!" He raises his eyebrows and drops my hand. Then he crosses his arms and says "Tell me what's going on!"

"No. Tell me what's going on with you." I raise an eyebrow, and when he realises he's not going to get an answer out of me, he sighs.

"Have you ever fallen in love with someone you shouldn't have?" He asks me, and I laugh.

"Are you actually serious? Were you hiding under a rock in February?"

"No, I mean someone who you really, really shouldn't have fallen in love with." His warm brown eyes fill with sadness, and his words are tinged with worry.

"What are you on about?" I realise how serious he's being, and I reach out and take his hands. "What is it, Liam?"

"I… I think…" He sighs in frustration, and his brown eyes pierce mine. "I think I've fallen in love with my best friend."

"Me?" I panic. _This cannot be happening!_

"No Jordan; Zayn. I think I'm in love with Zayn." _Uh oh…_

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><p><strong>So, that's it guys; hope you like it :D please review and tell me what you think! xXx<strong>


	4. Could Things Be Any More Confusing?

_**Oooh, lots of drama, eh? XD I had no school today because of a strike, so I thought I'd make the most of the free time and give you beautiful people another chapter (because I'm as unsociable as a mushroom :L) However, I've finished it at the same time I usually would have if I'd have had school because I kept getting distracted XD Anyway; I really love reading your reviews, and please keep 'em coming, 'cause I can only make my story better if you guys tell me how! Thank you for reading and reviewing :3 LOVE YOU GUYS!**_

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><p><span>Could Things Be Any More Confusing?<span>

**{Liam's POV}**

Jordan just stares at me with her mouth open, and I start to feel self-conscious. _I shouldn't have said anything. _I ask her to say something, but she just sits down on a chair and runs her hands through her dark blonde curls. I kneel down in front of her, and all of a sudden her head snaps up.

"How long have you felt like this, Liam? And what about Danielle? Have you spoken to Zayn? I…" I cover her mouth with my hand, and when she stops talking I slowly pull my hand away.

"Look; everyone will be wondering what we're doing, so why don't we go back outside and we'll talk tomorrow, okay?"

"Tomorrow? Why can't you just tell me?" She frowns at me.

"Because everyone will be wondering where we are! I just had to tell someone, and you were the first person I thought of." She smiles slightly, and then she frowns again.

"No, I want to know now; have you told Zayn?" I shake my head violently. "What about Danielle; are you still together?"

"No. We kept arguing so we had this massive conversation and decided that we're better off as friends. Harry's the only one that knows, so don't tell anyone." I sigh in frustration and put my head in my hands. "What am I gonna do?"

"Don't worry; it'll be okay. We'll talk tomorrow." She kisses me on the cheek and then gets up. "C'mon; let's go back outside." She grabs two beers from the counter and then heads out of the back door. I don't follow her; instead I sit down in the chair that she just vacated and put my head in my hands. _What am I going to do? _ I need to talk to Zayn, but I just can't. _What if he laughs at me? What if he is disgusted and refuses to talk to me? What if he ends up hating me? What if the rest of the boys think I'm a freak and hate me as well? _These thoughts bounce around in my head, and I push back tears; _what if I end up being responsible for breaking up the band?_ I shake my head furiously; _that __won't__ happen. I just won't tell anyone._ But I know that that won't happen. I've been living with these… these _feelings_ for months now, and I don't know how long I can go without telling Zayn. It's not like he's a friend at school that I can avoid; I'm in band with him! I have to spend nearly every day with him; how can I not tell him? I sigh in frustration and kick the table leg.

"I'm such an idiot!" I say out loud, and I'm looking for something to throw when I hear a voice.

"'Vas happening?" Zayn says from the doorway, and I ignore him and put my head in my hands again. "Hey; what's up?"

"Nothing." I try to stop my cheeks from turning crimson, and my heart is beating so loud that I'm surprised he doesn't hear it. He starts to speak, but I push past him and head out of the door.

"Oi; don't walk away from me." He grabs hold of my wrist and tries to pull me back to him. "What's going on?"

"Nothing; just drop it." I try to pull away from him but he yanks me back so hard that I almost crash into him. We're so close that our noses are almost touching, but neither of us pulls away. Worry sits heavily in his hazel eyes, and they pierce mine as he tries to work out what I'm so pissed off about.

"What's going on, Liam?" He asks softly, and I'm fully aware that he still hasn't let go of my wrist.

"Zayn, I…" I stop. _DON'T SAY IT! _"Danielle and I broke up." I sigh. His eyes soften instantly and he pulls me into a hug.

"Aw, I'm sorry." He claps me on the back and then lets me go. He steps back, but he's still close enough that I can smell his aftershave; "Unforgivable" by Sean John, which I bought him for Christmas because it's his favourite. _Shut up Liam; you sound like a girl. _"What happened?"

"We just argue a lot and decided to split up. I don't really wanna talk about it, if that's okay." I look down at my feet and Zayn clears his throat. When I look up he's stood right in front of me.

"Well, I'm here if you need me." He looks right into my eyes and I feel myself blushing. _Oh God… _He leans slightly closer to me, and my heart starts racing. _Is he going to…?_ Our lips are a breath apart when…

"Okay, I'll be right back." Niall says from outside. Zayn and I jump apart, and he walks through the door and looks at us suspiciously. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Zayn smiles and walks over to the fridge. "Just grabbing another beer; want one?"

"No thanks; I just came in to get Chloe some water 'cause she's not feeling very well." He looks in all of the cupboards for a glass, and then goes over to the tap and fills it up. As he's walking back to the door he asks us "You guys coming back outside?"

"Yeah, we'll be out in a minute." Zayn says to him, completely avoiding my eyes. Niall nods and then walks back outside, and before I can say anything, Zayn grabs hold of my hand and pulls me into the next room. I'm about to speak when he puts his other hand over my mouth and shakes his head. I struggle, and he drops his hand, still gripping my other hand tightly.

"Zayn, what the fuck are you doing?" I ask him. He looks like he's going to say something, and then he yanks his hand away from me and runs it through his hair.

"What you told Jordan earlier was utter bullshit, wasn't it?" He asks me after a while, doubt filling his voice.

"What I told… Fuck. You heard that?" I can feel my cheeks flooding with colour, and my heart threatens to break out of my chest. He looks me right in the eyes and nods, slowly. "Oh, bollocks."

"Tell me, Liam; is it true? Are you… do you love me?" His eyes lock with mine and I have no choice but to answer.

"Yes." I whisper. "I'm sorry, Zayn. I can't help it, I just…" He shakes his head and I trail off.

"Do you… Are you gay, then? How long have you known?" He asks me curiously, and I'm surprised.

"Urm, yeah; uh… about a year, I guess. But I really was in love with Danielle, at first, and now, I just…" I don't know what to say, so I just stop. A strange look passes over Zayn's face, and I tense; _what is he going to say?_

"Oh. Yeah. Well, I…" He stops as well. "What do you want me to say, Liam? I just…" I can see him getting freaked out and I start panicking. I can see the thoughts whirring around behind his eyes, and loads of different emotions show on his face before he clamps down on them. Suddenly he becomes alien to me; emotionless, unreadable, and he can barely look me in the eye. _Oh God…_

"I'm not having this conversation; I need to leave." Zayn shakes his head and walks away from me, and I feel my heart sink. I grab hold of his hand and pull him back, and he turns around and glares at me.

"You're my best friend, Zayn. I don't want to leave it like this! Please don't hate me!" I squeeze his hand and he pulls away from me.

"I'm not… I'm not gay, Liam! I don't like you like that!" He hisses, but his eyes tell a different story.

"You... you're lying!" I say in wonder. "I can see it in your eyes; you're lying!"

"No I'm not!" He says quickly, and his voice says it all. He leans forward and hisses at me "I. Am. Not. Gay."

"Okay, so, maybe you're not gay, but you do like me; I can see it in your eyes!"

"I... I… I love Gemma, okay? Just go away!" He doesn't deny his feelings and I seize the opportunity; I lean forwards and press my lips to his. I feel him tense up, and then he does something that I'm not expecting; he kisses me back. I wrap my arms around his back, and he puts one hand on my chest and pushes me up against the wall. He puts one arm on the wall and presses up against me, trapping me against the wall. He slips his tongue into my mouth and we kiss with passion and urgency. Suddenly he pushes himself away from me and backs away, breathing heavily.

"Zayn, I…" I reach out to… well, I don't know what I want to do, but I just have to stop him from running away. I step towards him, and he does something that I never, ever thought that he was capable of; he lashes out and punches me in the face. I stumble backwards, groaning in pain and holding my nose, and then I lose my balance and land on the floor, hitting my head on the wall.

"None of this happened, okay? Just… just stay the fuck away from me." He runs out of the door and my tears mix with the blood that is flowing steadily from my nose; _he's gone. He hates me._ Suddenly the pain in my head takes over, and just as I realise how hard I actually hit my head, darkness engulfs me and I pass out.

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><p><em><strong>So there it is guys! Hope you like it! Please review and tell me what you think! :D xXx<strong>_


	5. What Am I Going To Do?

_**Hello again XD thank you for your review guys, and please keep reading and reviewing :3 xXx**_

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><p><span>What Am I Going To Do?<span>

**{Zayn's POV}**

Liam's pure brown eyes fill with pain and anguish and I hate myself for being responsible for that. But at the same time I'm so angry it hurts; _how dare he just kiss me like that? And why did I kiss him back?_ He loses his balance and drops to the floor, hitting his head in the process, and my intense anger stops me from reaching out to help him.

"None of this happened, okay? Just… just stay the fuck away from me." I can only think one thing; _I have to get away. _Before he has chance to say anything I run out of the door and almost crash into Harry. He asks me where I'm going but I just ignore him and keep on running. I don't want to talk to anyone; I just want to get away. I keep running, even when I feel like I can't run anymore. _Must. Get. Away._ I don't know where I'm going; I just know that I have to get away. The steady beat of my feet hitting the pavement eventually calms me down, and I stop to study my surroundings; I'm in the park that Harry brought us to when we were having our "bonding session" before the X Factor Live Shows. This is where I met Gemma. _Oh God; Gemma. _I start to feel sick, and I sit on the nearest bench and put my head in my hands. I just sit like this for a while, blissfully grateful of the silence. Then my phone buzzes, and I get it out of my pocket; I've been out for 20 minutes and I already have 3 text messages.

**Zayn, what the hell is going on? Liam is really upset and won't tell us what happened. Come back to JJ's! Harry**

**I know what happened, Zayn. Well, I can guess. Just come back when you're ready, okay? Jordan xx**

**I'm sorry Zayn. I won't tell anyone what happened, I promise. Just come back, please x**

The last one is like daggers in my gut; how can I go back and face him after what he did… after what I did? I get up and start pacing, too fidgety and restless to keep still. _What the fuck am I going to do? _My thoughts turn to Gemma; my gorgeous, unique, funny, warm and caring Gemma. _How can I go back to her knowing that I've kissed somebody else? Knowing that I… I love somebody else. _It's possible to love two people at once; JJ is a prime example. She loves both Harry and Louis, and I… _I love Gemma… __and__ Liam._ _Oh God… WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?_ I sit back down, unsure of what to do, and my phone rings; Chloe.

"'Vas happenin'?" I say, trying to keep the situation light, but she ignores me.

"**Where the fuck are you, Zayn? We find Liam lying on the floor, bleeding and unconscious, and then you do one of your disappearing acts again! Where are you?" **

"I'm… out. I just needed some air. Is Liam okay?" I try to keep my voice steady.

"**I don't know; as soon as he woke up he just told everyone to go away and walked off. ****Jordan made him go upstairs and lie down in her room, and she's in there now trying to get him to talk, but the only thing he's said is 'Zayn hates me'. What happened?"**

"It doesn't matter. I'll uh… I'll be home in a bit. There's something I have to do."

"**Zayn, Liam is…" **I hang up on her before she can finish. _I've heard enough; I need to go and see Gemma._

* * *

><p>"Gem, let me in!" I bang on the door of her flat, and she answers in a Black Veil Brides t-shirt that is way too big for her and a pair of shorts.<p>

"Zayn, much as I love you; it's 10.30 and I have to get up at 6 for work tomorrow, so this better be good." She tries her best to act annoyed, but the corner of her mouth lifts in a cheeky smile. "What's up?"

"I have to talk to you. Can I come in?" I run my hands through my hair and her expression changes to one of worry. She steps out of the way and beckons me in, and I take a deep breath before stepping through the door way. I head straight for the front room, and when she walks in I grab her hand and pull her down next me to. "You know I love you, don't you?"

"Zayn, you're scaring me now." She grips my hand tightly, and I sigh.

"Gem, I…" I take a deep breath. If I can talk to anyone about this, it's her; she'll understand. _I hope. _"Gem, Liam just told me that he loves me." I expect her to say something, but she doesn't look surprised. She doesn't show any emotion at all; she just sits and stares at me.

"What happened after that?" She says after a while. I take a deep breath and grip her hands tightly.

"He… he kissed me." I whisper and she gasps quietly. "And… and I kissed him back." She pulls her hands away from me and covers her mouth.

"Oh, God." She shakes her head, and tears start trickling down her cheeks. "Why would… why did you… why?"

"I'm so sorry, Gemma." She turns away from me and I kneel in front of her. "Gem, please, just listen!"

"Listen to what?" She turns back to me, and now her eyes are full of anger and betrayal. "Listen to you explain how you and Liam are in love and you just want to be friends with me? Or that you don't want to be with him and you want to just forget? Do you… Do you even love me at all? Or am I just being used in some sick attempt at you denying that you're gay?"

"Gem, stop it!" I put my hands on her shoulders and try to get her to calm down. "1- I'm not gay. 2- I love you. 3- I came here to tell you because I couldn't live with myself if we carried on and you didn't know! And 4- I love you!"

"If you love me so much, why did you kiss someone else?" She pushes me away and walks out of the room. _Oh shit. I had something good and I threw it away. Why? _

"Gemma, babe, please just let me try and explain." I follow her into the bedroom, and she grabs all of the spare clothes that I have left here and starts throwing them at me. "Gem, stop it!"

"No! Take your stuff and run along back to Liam, why don't you?" She throws a shoe and narrowly misses my left ear.

"Gemma!" She sags down on to the bed and starts crying. "Gemma, please don't… oh, God…"

"Zayn; you love him." She says between sobs. "There's no getting back from this."

"There's no getting back…? Gem, please… I… I don't love him!" She picks up a pillow and I move away from her.

"You kissed him back!" She throws the pillow at me.

"Yeah, and then I punched him!" I duck and the pillow flies over my head and knocks a lamp over behind me.

"Now look what you made me do!" _That was __my__ fault? She threw it! _"Just get out. I don't want you here anymore."

"Gem, please!" I grab her cheeks and kiss her. She struggles at first, and then she melts into the kiss. She wraps her arms around my neck and holds me close, and the all of a sudden she pulls away.

"You jerk." She slaps me around the face. Hard.

"What the fuck? OW!" I stumble backwards, covering my cheek with my hand.

"Get out." She says, all emotion leaving her face and voice. I start to protest and she shouts "GET OUT, ZAYN. WE'RE OVER." She turns around and starts sobbing, and I resist the urge to reach out and hug her; instead I just walk out of the door. _What the fuck am I going to do now; do I tell Liam how I really feel, try and win Gemma back, or just give up altogether?_

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><p><strong>{JJ's POV}<strong>

Liam moves slightly, and I look down at him to check that he's okay. He snores lightly and rolls away from me, but he still has a tight grip on my hand. I sigh quietly and rub my eyes with my other hand. I'm really worried about Liam; his nose isn't broken but it bled quite a lot, and he hit his head hard enough to knock himself out. Everyone's tried to get him to talk about it, but he won't even tell me. All we know is that he and Zayn fell out and it resulted in Liam bleeding all over the floor and Zayn running away. I think I know what happened; he must have told Zayn how he feels, and Zayn obviously didn't react very well. I feel so bad for Liam; this must be so confusing for him.

"It's rude to stare." Liam says softly, and I laugh and run my hands through his silky brown hair.

"Sorry. Are you feeling better now?" He sits up on the bed and pulls me onto his lap, and I lace my fingers through his.

"Yeah, I guess." He pauses for a while, and then all of a sudden he says "I kissed Zayn. And he kissed me back. Then he punched me." I'm unsure how to reply, so I just stay quiet for a while. Then I look up at him and stare into his soft brown eyes.

"He kissed you back? And then punched you?" Liam nods, and his eyes sparkle with tears. "Oh, Liam." I reach up and hug him tight, and he cries softly on my shoulder.

"What's going on?" Louis says from the doorway and I quickly get off of Liam, realising what this must look like.

"It's not what you think." I say quickly, and I can see Louis trying to decide what to believe.

"Louis. I'm gay." Liam says, wiping his eyes, and my mouth drops open in shock. Louis' eyes widen, and his mouth opens and closes like a goldfish while he decides what to say. "I am telling you this because you are one of my best friends, and I am also saying it so you don't think that I'm stealing the girl you love." Louis shakes his head, completely confused by the situation, and I slowly walk over to Louis and take his hand.

"Don't tell anyone, okay?" Liam says quietly, and Louis just shakes his head again.

"You… you're gay? But what about Danielle?"

"We're not together anymore. Look… you can… you can accept this, can't you? You don't…" Liam stops when Louis starts laughing. "What?"

"I'm not bothered about you being gay, Liam. I was just worried, that's all." Louis strides over to Liam and hugs him tight. I smile fondly at them both, and then a thought strikes me.

"Oh my God; I've always wanted a gay best friend!" We all laugh, and then I hear a noise at the door. I turn, and…

"'Vas happenin'?" Zayn smiles timidly, and Louis' eyes narrow.

"And where the bloody hell have you been?" Louis crosses his arms and I try not to laugh.

"Doesn't matter. Can I… can I talk to you alone please, Liam?" Zayn looks down at his feet, and a look of panic and confusion flashes over Liam's face.

"Sure." He says pointedly, and Louis and I get the picture.

"C'mon." Louis holds out his hand and I grasp it tightly. "We need to leave anyway. See you guys later." He pulls me out of the door, and as soon as we're out of view he pulls me against him and kisses me. His hands slide around my waist, and I slide my hands up his broad chest and shoulders and around his neck. He slips his tongue into my mouth and kisses me intensely, and then he pulls away, grinning like a fool. "Ever since you said you loved me back, I've wanted to kiss you. No; ever since I realised I love you I've wanted to kiss you."

"I know exactly how you feel." I pull him back down and connect my lips with his. We shouldn't be doing this, but I'm happier than I've been for a long time, so I ignore my conscience. Unfortunately, karma has a way of finding me and biting me on the ass.

"What the hell are you doing?"

**When will the drama end? XD So, what do you think? Review and tell me! Love you guys :D xx**


	6. Drama, Drama and More Drama

_**Sorry for the wait, guys; I've been really busy, and truth be told I've been a little stuck with this. I just slipped into one of those 'cba' moods :L But I'm back, and oh the drama; the ridiculous amounts of drama xD well, it wouldn't be worth reading if there wasn't some drama in it, would it? XD Thank you for your reviews and I really hope you like this chapter :) please keep reading and reviewing!**_

Drama, Drama and More Drama

**{Zayn's POV}**

"See you later." Louis pulls Jordan out of the room and Liam collapses down onto the bed, running his hands through his slightly-mad brown curls.

"You really need to get your hair cut." I laugh and sit down on the bed next to him. He laughs lightly, and then turns to face me, worry sitting heavily in his brown eyes. He starts to speak, but I put my hand over his mouth. He grasps my arm tightly and pulls my hand away. I don't resist, and his hand slowly slides down my arm and his fingers entwine with mine. I sigh heavily and whisper "What are we going to do, Liam?"

"It's up to you; you and I both know how I feel. Well, Jordan knows as well, but she won't tell anyone; I promise. But don't feel like you have to get on one knee and declare your undying love for me; I just want to know how you feel." He lifts his other hand and lightly brushes it over my cheek. We don't say anything for a while, and his eyes pierce mine, sending shivers down my spine. Suddenly he pulls his hand away from my cheek and grasps my other hand in his as well. "I felt you kiss me back, Zayn. I wasn't imagining it, was I?"

"No." I say, after a slight hesitation. _May as well tell the truth, Zayn. _I see the hope shine in his eyes, and I hate to have to be the one to rip that from him. I yank my hands away from him and say as firmly as I can: "But that was just a spur of the moment thing; I don't think… I…"

"Zayn…" Liam can sense me mentally backing away from him and his eyes fill with panic and sadness.

"Liam, I don't think I can be in a relationship with a guy right now… It's too… too weird. Especially with my best friend." I feel like my heart is ripping in two, but I'm telling the truth; I need more time, and I just can't be with him right now. He starts to speak, and then his eyes fill with tears and he clenches his hands in his lap.

"Okay." He says, taking a deep breath. "Do whatever you need to, Zayn. But my feelings won't change, and neither will yours." He abruptly gets up and leaves, and I feel like a little bit of me has left with him.

**{JJ's POV}**

"What the hell are you doing?" Comes a voice from behind us and we instantly jump apart. I spin around and come face to face with someone whose expression is shifting between surprise and anger.

"Chloe?" I sigh, trying to calm my frantic heartbeat. "Oh, Chloe; thank God it's you! We were…"  
>"Yeah, I can see what you were bloody doing. Are you insane?" She puts her hands on her hips and clenches her fists as if she's tempted to hit me. "With everything that's happened, you two are just gonna go behind everyone's back and start kissing? Really?"<p>

"Shut up!" Louis says, looking around to see if anyone heard, but thankfully nobody is around. He runs his hands through his dark hair and sighs. "Look, we were…"

"Don't bother." Chloe interrupts again, shaking her head.

"Will you stop interrupting and give us chance to explain, please?" Louis snaps, and Chloe is taken aback. Then Louis realises he's been rude and he holds out his hands in apology. Chloe nods curtly, and he grimaces. "Look… we just kissed okay? First time it happened and it was entirely my fault. I kinda… pounced on her. Ish. But I promise it was the first time anything has happened like this, and we are not sneaking around behind your back, like, dating, or… uh…" He trails off, and then an awkward silence hangs in the air. Suddenly Chloe bursts out laughing, and I raise my eyebrows.

"Haha, you two look so guilty!" She chuckles again, and then a shadow of seriousness clouds her features. "This is not good. Not good at all. Harry was just out there… telling me that he… He still loves you, Twin."

"Bollocks." I cover my face with my hands and Louis makes a frustrated noise. "This is such a mother-fucking mess."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Louis clenches his hands in frustration and looks like he's about to punch something. Anger floods his features, and he suddenly walks off. _This is not good._

"Louis?" I try to grab his hand but he stalks off, and I hurry after him. "Where are you going, Louis?"  
>"To have a little chat with my "best friend". This needs sorting; now." I can't think of anything else to do, so I do something really stupid…. I jump on his back. He struggles and hisses at me: "What the fuck are you doing, Jordan?"<p>

"Stopping you!" He tries to push me off without hurting me and I wrap my arms and legs around him, refusing to let go. Suddenly the absurdity of the situation hits me, and I burst out laughing. I jump down and attempt to control my fits of laughter, and it's not long before Louis starts laughing with me. Then Chloe catches up with us and she just stops and stares at us.

"What the fuck are you two doing?" We're laughing too much to answer so she just shakes her head at us. She walks away, and as she does she mutters "Weirdo's."

"Promise me something, Jordy." Louis says to me when we've finally calmed down. "You're not just saying you love me, are you? You do mean it, don't you?" He looks so anxious, and I place both my hands on his warm cheeks and look deep into his orbs of blue.

"Okay, so we all know that I felt like I had to choose between you two in February, and I do love you both, but I've realised over the past few months that I love Harry in a different way now, and that I…" I trail off, unsure what to say. "Fuck it; I love you, Louis. I want to be your girlfriend. I want to do regular boyfriend/girlfriend things with you. I want you to love me too, and I want everyone to accept that. But I also don't want to hurt Harry's feelings, and I don't know how to do all of those things without hurting him." He stares at me for a while, and then he pulls me close into a tight embrace. I sob lightly, so confused and overwhelmed by all my feelings, and he gently pushes me away from him.

"Please don't cry again, Jordy. I don't want to see you cry ever again; especially because of me." He softly wipes my tears away and smiles at me. "I love you too, Jordy. And to be honest, I do love Harry too. Maybe not quite in the way that you love him," he pauses and we both laugh slightly, "but he's my best friend, and I don't want to hurt him either. And I don't think anybody else has seen it, but I have to choose too; do I put my best friend first, or do I put the girl… the girl I love first?" He shifts slightly, trying not to show how uncomfortable talking about his feelings is starting to make him, and I laugh. He runs his hands through my natural-blonde waves and sighs. "What are we going to do, Jordy?"

"I need to talk to Harry." This reminds me of when Harry kissed me all those months ago and I told him I had to talk to Louis. _How things have changed… _"I need to tell him, once and for all, that there's nothing between us. But also I need to make sure he's okay with it, because I don't want to break you two up, and ultimately break up the group. I'm such a slut; moving from one best friend to the other. I'll be after Niall next." I try to make a joke out of it, but that's how I feel; _I'm such a whore._

"You're not a slut, you stupid girl. You can't help who you fall in love with, can you?" He leans in and kisses the end of my nose, and then I hear footsteps. We instantly back away from each other, and then I hear sobbing.

"Jordan?" There's no mistaking that voice, and Gemma stumbles round the corner, Vodka in hand, bawling hysterically.

"Gemma?" I run over to her and wrestle the bottle out of her grip. She wraps her arms around me and cries on my shoulder, and I hand the bottle to Louis. I wrap my arms around Gemma and she sags into my embrace, crying Zayn's name and trying not to fall over. I pull away from her and try to lead her into the house, but she's had way too much to drink, to the point where I'm curious (and worried!) as to how she even managed to get here. I hear a *clink* as Louis places the half empty Vodka bottle on the floor, and then he jogs over and gathers Gemma up into his arms. She leans on his shoulder and carries on bawling, but he isn't even fazed. He looks at me pointedly, and I tell him to carry her to my bedroom because there's an en suite, just in case she needs to vomit. He carries her into the house, careful not to hurt her or jog her too much (just in case she pukes all over him!), and carries her up the stairs with me following close behind, trying to calm her down and work out what she's so upset about. Then we walk into my bedroom, and I realise that Zayn is still in there. He looks up at the sound of Gemma's wailing, and he looks as if he's seen a ghost.

"NO!" Gemma screams and Louis jumps, nearly dropping her. He manages to keep hold of her, and he places her on the bed next to Zayn. "NOT HIM! GET HIM THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!"

"I think you better leave, Zayn." Louis says, sitting on the bed next to Gemma and pulling her into his arms. She cries on his shoulder, and the only words I can make out are "Zayn" and "mother-fucker". Zayn's eyes are wide with shock, and he reaches out to Gemma. She screams at him, and he reels backwards. Louis tries to calm her down and shouts at Zayn: "Zayn, just get out; you're making her worse!"

"C'mon Zayn; she's drunk and hysterical, so I think it's best if you just leave." I take his hand and lead him out of the room, and when we get outside he breaks down. "Zayn? Do you know what's wrong with her?"

"It's me." He whispers. "I told her about what happened with Liam and she threw me out. I just couldn't go on with her without her knowing. I didn't realise that she'd react like this."

"Then you obviously don't realise how much she loves you, you stupid twat." I shake my head sadly. "We've both made a mess of things, haven't we, Zayn?"

"Just a bit." He sighs and holds out his arms for a hug. I smile fondly and allow him to pull me into his embrace. We just stand there in silence, holding each other, and then he sighs. "We both have things we need to do, don't we?"

"Yeah." I sigh, and as I squeeze Zayn tight I think to myself: _I know exactly what I need to do._

_**So there it is guys! Hope you like it! Again; sorry it's taken me so long to write! And thank you for all your reviews, and all the beautiful people who have added my story/stories to their favourites; that really makes me smile :) please review and tell me what you think! :3 xXx**_


	7. Well, It Had To Happen At Some Point

_**Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews and the favourite's; it really makes me smile :3 I hope you enjoy this ( very long…) chapter, and please keep reviewing :) Oh, just so you know; when you put hearts on the reviews, they don't actually come up as a heart, they just come up as "3"… but don't worry; I know what you mean xD REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! XD**_

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><p><span>Well, It Had To Happen At Some Point…<span>

**{Louis' POV}**

"Gemma, please calm down, okay?" I rock her back and forth in my arms, and she tries to calm her sobs; "tries" being the operative word.

"I'm gonna be sick." Her eyes widen and her hands jump to her mouth. I quickly lead her to the en suite and hold her hair back with one hand as she collapses on the floor and throws up noisily into the toilet. I rub her back soothingly with my other hand as she cries and when she's finished I help her clean up, and then I carry her back into the bedroom. I carefully lay her down on the bed and smooth her jet-black curls away from her face, then I cover her with a blanket and sit down next to her.

"What's going on, Gemma?" I ask softly. I know it's something to do with Zayn, but I want to know what.

"I can't..." She shakes her head sleepily and puts a finger to her lips. Her mascara and eyeliner hide her from the world but inside I know there's a scared little girl using alcohol and make-up to cover up her pain.

"Okay." _I'll get it out of Jordan later… _She smiles and curls up into a ball on her side, and I watch as her droopy eyelids finally close and she slips into a deep, alcohol fuelled slumber. As soon as she's fully asleep I tip toe out of the room, pull the door almost closed, and when I turn around Jordan is sat on the floor, and Zayn is asleep on her shoulder. I cough loudly, and Zayn almost jumps out of his skin.

"'Vas happenin'?" He smiles sleepily, and he stands up and stretches. Jordan looks at me grimly and pushes her blond waves away from her face. "How's Gemma?"

"She's okay, I guess… She's stopped being sick, and she's asleep at the moment." Jordan gets to her feet and stretches, flexing her muscles and clicking her bones, and I can't help but ogle. She catches me looking and blushes delicately before smirking at me. "Excuse my language, but what the fuck happened?" Both of their smiles instantly disappear and they both avert their eyes. I tap my foot impatiently, indicating that I'm waiting and I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me, and they give each other a funny look before turning to look at me. Zayn can't hold my gaze for long and his eyes drop to his feet, and Jordan sighs heavily.

"Gemma and Zayn had a row and broke up, and Gemma didn't take it very well and downed half a bottle of Vodka. She does this when she's upset." Zayn's head snaps up, and he gives Jordan a weird look, as if that not what he thought she was going to say. She shrugs her shoulders at him, and it's like I'm not in the room anymore. I think about saying something, but there's no point; I'll give up now, but Jordan will tell me eventually. I feel a bit… I don't know… left out? It must be a pretty big thing if they clearly don't want to tell me? Jordan rubs her eyes with her hands, and it dawns on me how tired and pale she looks. I quickly check my blue Rolex watch; 11.30pm. _I'm so fucking tired…_

"Well, uh… It's kinda late, so we better be going." I say, trying to diffuse the unbearable tension that is hanging in the air. Zayn nods, but Jordan looks unhappy.

"Can't you stay here? My Dad's gone to London for the weekend, and this is technically my house, so…" She smiles brightly, and I realise; _she doesn't want me to leave!_

"Sure. But let's go and see what the guys are doing; Harry might wanna go home and see his family, and Niall might wanna go back with Chloe, so…" Her eyes flash, and I start to panic; _what are we gonna do about Chloe? What if she tells someone? _Jordan shakes her head in denial, and I start to wonder if Chloe will actually keep it a secret or not.

"Okay." Jordan gestures for Zayn to go first, and as he walks off I ask Jordan a question.

"How's stuff with your Dad then, Jordy?" She walks off down the stairs, and as the silence grows I start to get suspicious. "Jordan?"

"Fine." She jumps down the last two steps like a child, lands lightly on her feet, and then stalks off into the kitchen. _Touchy subject? _I try and speak again, but Harry appears and drags Jordan away before I can talk to her. She roughly pulls her arm out of his grip, and he tells her to stop being childish. She glares at him angrily and stomps on his foot.

"Fuck. Ow! I'm just trying to talk to you, JJ!" He grimaces in pain, and I see her soften slightly when he uses her nickname.

"Well was it necessary to touch me?" She says, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him.

"You don't usually mind when I touch you." He jokes inappropriately and winks at her, but she doesn't see the funny side of it. I start to rush to her aid but I feel hands clamp down on my shoulders and subtly hold me back; Liam. Niall stands on my left, and Chloe stands on my right (the side closest to Jordan), and they both shoot me looks as if to say "don't move". Zayn strides over to Harry and stands on his right, and all the while Jordan just glares at Harry, carefully choosing what to say.

"You're not funny, Harry." She backs away from him slightly, hurt and anger sitting heavily in her sea-green eyes.

"Just saying." He shrugs nonchalantly, and I watch her snap; she grits her teeth, and I can see her resisting the urge to hit him. Chloe steps forward and takes Jordan's hand in hers, and the whole room fills with tension.

"What's your problem, Harry? You've only been here for a few hours and you're already obviously dying to say something, so just spit it out." Chloe gets straight to the point, and I see Jordan's eyes brim with tears; she's genuinely hurt, and she doesn't understand why Harry's being a jerk. No-one does.

"I was just making a joke, okay? Not a big deal." He has the audacity to make out that Jordan is the one that's being stupid, and that's when I see red; I shrug Liam off and step in between Harry and the girls.

"Just grow up, okay?" His green eyes fix on mine, and as he glares at me I feel like I'm looking at a different person.

"That's right; come to her aid. Her precious knight in shining armour has come to save her from big bad Harry." He starts to shake with anger, and that's when I realise; he's angry with me.

"Don't be a dick, Harry. What's your problem?" I try not to argue with him, but I can feel the anger in me rising like bile.

"You! You're my problem. You came along and stole the girl I love, and then you told me you didn't love her and you started dating someone else, so I work out how I'm gonna try and win her back, and then you go behind my back and tell her how much you fucking love her!" His hands clench into fists, and I flush with anger and embarrassment; _how does he know about that? _Jordan gasps, mortified, and I turn to look at Chloe. She shakes her head violently, and whispers something to Jordan, who nods. Then Harry laughs and spits out: "I heard you two, you prick."

"Harry, look…" I start to explain, but he doesn't want to hear it. He shakes his head and raises his hand to cut me off, but I flinch and step backwards, thinking that he's gonna hit me. He looks at me, shocked and hurt, and I realise I've made a mistake.

"I wasn't gonna hit you, you fucking twat." He drops his hand and Liam walks over and stands in between us, putting a hand on both of our chests and slightly pushing us away from each other.

"Stop it guys, seriously. If you need to talk about this then go outside or something, but don't make a big thing out of it in front of everyone, 'cause…"

"Don't make a big thing about it?" I turn to Liam and vent all of my anger onto him. "It is a big fucking thing, Liam! We both love the same girl. How is that not a big thing?"

"Don't take it out on me, Louis." Liam looks at me angrily, something I have never seen before. "I just want you two to stop fighting, that's all. You both may be great at fooling the fans and the cameras, but you haven't fooled any of us; we know you haven't been the same since February, so either fight and then kiss and make up, or talk about it like adults, but for fuck sake just sort it out."

"Yeah, guys." Zayn says, stepping around Harry and facing Liam so that the four of us are all stood in square. Niall slowly walks over to Jordan and grasps her other hand. "We're a band; we can't keep going on like this if you two can't sort yourselves out! It's not just about you anymore; it's about all of us. We're all stuck in the fucking middle! So just sort it out, okay?" Harry and I are both surprised to learn how Liam and Zayn feel, and Niall seems as if he doesn't want to get involved, but I also get the feeling that he agrees with what's just been said. I turn to look at Niall and the girls, and Jordan is gripping their hands tightly. One look is all it takes to realise that her heart is breaking, and her bottom lip quivers as she tries to hold back the waterfall of tears that are obviously threatening to overflow. All of my anger quickly diffuses, and I realise that the most important thing in this situation is her. I turn back to Harry, who is looking at me strangely.

"Outside; let's go for a drive or something, okay?" I say before he can say anything, and I point to the door. He starts to argue and then nods, defeated, and walks out of the door. Everyone looks surprised, and before anybody can talk I check that my kegs are in my pocket and then follow Harry out of the house. He strides down the driveway and keeps going, and rather than stopping by my car he turns left and keeps on walking down the street. I run to catch up with him, and I grab hold of his arm and turn him to face me.

"Please stop, Harry. Please don't walk away from me. I just want to talk." He looks like he wants to run away from me, but instead he just sits on the edge of the kerb and starts throwing little stones across the road. I raise my eyebrow but don't hesitate to join him. We sit in silence for a while, each thinking of something to say to the other, and then he slides right up next to me and leans his head on my shoulder. I'm surprised, but I don't push him away.

"We haven't really known each other long, have we?" He muses, and I decide to just go along with the conversation.

"Nearly two years..." I reply, and I wonder where he's going with the conversation, but I don't say anything else.

"You'd think, in that time, that we'd have built up enough of a friendship to not argue over a girl; wouldn't you?" Again, I'm still not sure how we got from almost punching each other's lights out to talking about our feelings, but it's better than fighting, so I'll just go along with it.

"Yeah, you'd think." He just nods and throws another stone across the road, and he lifts his head up and looks me straight in the eyes.

"I saw the way you looked at her earlier; you really do love her, don't you?" I decide that words are unnecessary, so I just nod instead. "How many times do we have to have this conversation before I finally realise that you are much better for JJ than I am?"

"Don't be like that, Harry." I sigh. Then I ask a question that has been burning my insides; "How much of the conversation did you hear?"

"Enough." He runs his hands through his mad brown curls and smiles sadly. "I heard that she was going to come and talk to me, and… well, I was kinda glad that she cares enough to do that."

"Yup." I nod, and I'm unsure of what to say… "Look; let's just cut the feelings crap, okay? You're annoyed and betrayed because I fell in love with Jordan in the first place, and I'm annoyed because you won't let go. Is that the truth?"

"Yeah." He says simply, slightly taken aback by my sudden brutal honesty. "But do you know what? If you're gonna make her happy, then go ahead. Her being happy is the most important thing." He starts to look uncomfortable, but I'm relieved that he doesn't look angry anymore.

"Do you really mean that, Harry?" I say sceptically; I'm not sure I believe in his sudden change of heart.

"Yeah, I think I do." He smiles at me, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. I reach out and tousle his messy hair, and I'm grateful when he doesn't back away from me. I desperately want things to go back to normal, not just for our sake but for everybody else too, but I want this sorted out; now. I start to speak, but he interrupts me. "This is more feelings crap, okay? Our friendship is more important- man, we sound like girls-, and I don't wanna keep arguing over a girl, okay? Even if that girl is JJ. I am going to be perfectly fine if you two start dating, and I will be happy for you; eventually. But you have to understand that I've been in love with JJ since I was 11, and I'm not gonna get over it overnight, okay." He nods to signal that he's finished with the "feelings crap", and I'm glad that he has finally opened up to me.

"I understand. Thank you, Harry." I reach out and pull him into a hug, and he claps me on the back and smiles.

"Well, I guess we have a mess to sort out and a lot of people to apologise to, yeah?" He jumps up and pulls me to my feet, and then he looks down at his feet and blushes, before looking me in the eyes and grinning. "Just promise me one thing, Lou; Larry Stylinson isn't dead, is it?" He winks at me, and I grin brightly.

"No, Harry; Larry Stylinson is very much alive." I nudge him playfully, and as we walk back to Jordan's house in the summery darkness, telling each other jokes and mocking our girlish arguments, I start to feel like everything is right with the world again.

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><p><em><strong>So there we go, ladies and gents :) please review and tell me what you think about the story so far, and where you think the story is going or where you would like it to go :) love you guys! :3 xXx<strong>_


	8. If Life Was Easy It Would Be Boring

_**READ THE BLOODY AUTHORS NOTE; I DON'T WRITE IT JUST SO YOU CAN BLOODY IGNORE IT! xD**_

_**So, what do you think of Harry's sudden change of heart? How long do you think it will last? And what about Liam and Zayn; do you guys want them to be together? Review and tell me! This is just a kind of fill-in chapter, but please enjoy nonetheless :) xXx**_

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><p><span>If Life Was Easy It Would Be Boring<span>

*** A Week Later ***

**[Chloe's POV]**

"Get a fucking move on, Niall!" I shout at him. He comes running down the stairs, still running gel through his newly dyed brown hair. He stops right in front of me and grins.

"What do you think of my hair? Does it look okay? Will everyone like it? Are my management gonna kill me?" he babbles, tripping over the words in his sexy Irish accent. He keeps throwing questions at me until I step forward and press my lips to his, silencing him. He deepens the kiss and places his hand on my cheek, and then pulls away and smiles at me sweetly. "Was I babbling again?"

"Yes, yes you were." I laugh lightly, and I can see that he's still expecting an answer. "I think your hair looks great, Nialler. Yes, I'm sure everybody will like it. No, I don't think Simon and the rest of the team will kill you. Happy now?"

"Yes." He leans forward and kisses me again, and as he pulls away I gasp lightly and his eyes flash with panic. "What? What?"

"It's just the baby kicking, that's all." I smile, and he rests his hand on my stomach, desperate to feel the baby kicking. It kicks again, and Niall's face lights up.

"I felt it!" He laughs, and my eyes fill with tears (_stupid hormones…_). You'd never know, just from looking, that the baby isn't Niall's; he's been so kind and helpful, and he's been there for me as much as possible since I found out that I was pregnant. Well, he's had to be; at about the beginning of March I got a visit from Jack's mother. It was quite possibly one of the worst afternoons of my life:

"_Joyce?" I say, completely surprised to see my ex-boyfriend's mother standing on my doorstep. _

"_Can I come in please, Chloe? It's important." Her eyes are red and puffy, and they swim with pain and sadness. There's only one reason that she could be so upset about something that involves me; __**something must have happened to Jack. **_

"_Sure; come in." I beckon her in, and she takes a deep breath and steps inside, looking all around my tiny ground-floor flat like she's never been here before. We used to be really close- because Jack and I had dated for so long (3 years) - but since Jack and I broke up I haven't really spoken to her. Obviously. As she perches on the sofa I offer her a drink, but she politely declines and tells me that she just wants to talk, so I sit next to her and say: "Okay; what's this about, Joyce?"_

"_It's Jack." Tears spill over her cheeks and she delicately dabs them away with a tissue. "I just want you to know that he never stopped loving you, okay? The only reason he broke up with you is because he didn't want you sat at home waiting around for him, and he thought that if he died you would be able to deal with it easier, but he always loved you."_

"_He's dead, isn't he?" I cover my mouth with my hand and try to hold back tears. I shake my head in denial, and then Joyce nods at me, and I break down. My tears fall steadily as I take in deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself down. Joyce clasps one of my hands in hers and cries with me. __**I told Jack not to go! I told him that I knew something bad would happen, but he didn't fucking listen to me, and now he's dead! **__I scream at myself. Then a thought hits me; he'll never get to meet his child! I start to sob hysterically. "But… I'm pregnant! And Jack's the dad!"_

"_Oh God." Her hands fly to her mouth as she takes in what I've just said. Then she wraps her arms around me and pulls me into a motherly embrace, letting me cry on her shoulder. Her body starts to shake as she cries, and we both realise the same thing at the same time; this baby is the only thing we have left of Jack. Joyce pulls away from me and wipes my tears away, and then she cups my face in her hands. "You will… You will let me see the baby, won't you, Chloe?"_

"_Of course I will!" I take her hands away from my face and clasp them in mine. "You're the baby's grandmother; of course I won't keep you away!" I hug her again, and we both cry as we let our grief overwhelm us._

"Chloe, did you hear me; phone for you!" Nialler holds out the phone towards me, and I realise that he's been trying to get my attention for ages. I quickly take the phone from his hands, hoping that it will be who I think it is.

"**Hey Twin." **come's a distinct Cheshire accent from the other end of the phone, and I grin like a fool.

"Jordan!" I hear her laugh, and I'm so happy to hear from her; after what happened with Louis and Harry, she disappeared. Actually disappeared. We couldn't get hold of her for ages, and then I found her after 3 days; she'd run off to Beth's again. If she keeps running away when things get tough, then she's going to be running forever.

"**How are you?" **She says, but she sounds unhappy. I decide to leave it; if she's really unhappy then she'll tell me.

"I'm good. Still at Beth's?" I ask. She sighs, and then I hear someone talking to her on the other end. _Rude much…_

"**Yeah. Look, I just phoned to ask if you're still coming out." **We're supposed to be going to a restaurant for dinner, but what she doesn't realise is that it isn't just going to be me, her and Nialler; the rest of the band are going to be there too. She's been away from them for a week; she needs to realise that this isn't all her fault, and she needs to hear their side of the story. When Harry and Louis got back from their "walk" or "bromance-sesh" or whatever it was, Jordan just kicked everyone out of the house, and then when we tried to get hold of her on Saturday she just ignored everyone. Her Dad said that she'd disappeared and left him a note to say that she needed a break, and he hadn't heard from her since. _Not that he even gives a shit. _Like I said; she needs to stop running away when things get tough.

"Yep, just leaving now; I was just waiting for Niall to finish doing his hair, and then the baby kicked again."

"**Aw!" **She coos. **"I don't like saying 'the baby' though; why didn't you find out the gender?"**

"We've had this conversation, Jord; I want it to be a surprise." We argue for a while, and then Niall starts to get impatient. "Okay, we need to go now. I'll see you in a bit, okay?" She says goodbye, and then we hang up.

"Can we leave now?" Niall says, taking my hand in his, and I smile.

"Yeah." I grab my bag and then he leads me out of the house. _Well, this is going to be fun… not._

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><p><strong>[Louis' POV]<strong>

"Remind me again why we're doing this." I say to Harry as Anne applies the finishing touches to my hair. We're in his parent's house, getting ready to go out for dinner with Liam, Niall, Zayn, Jordan and Chloe. He ignores me and runs his hands through his messy curls; his idea of "styling" his hair. "Jordan is not gonna be happy; you know she doesn't want to see us."

"I'm sure that's not true, Louis." Anne says, kissing me on the cheek and then walking over to Harry and straightening his collar in a motherly gesture. "She's just afraid of the whole situation, that's all."

"Get off me, Mum!" Harry laughs, trying to get away from Anne's fussing. She pouts, and he kisses her on the cheek before running out of the room to grab his wallet and keys. I study myself in the mirror; red skinnies, white shirt and red braces. This is the sort of thing I'd usually wear on stage, but I'm making a special effort tonight because of Jordy.

"Okay, Louis, you look gorgeous; can we leave now?" Harry tries to rush me out of the house, and when I protest he smacks my ass really hard.

"Ow! Was that really necessary?" I laugh and try and hit his ass but he dances out of the way.

"Yeah it was. Now go!" He pushes me out of the door, and we both wave to Anne as we leave. We have a debate on which car we're going to take, but Harry convinces me to let him drive us in his new Mini Cooper (_He__ bought a new car. There was nothng wrong with his other one! He's just spending for the sake of it, now...)_. He opens the passenger door for me, and I'm not sure whether I should be insulted (_because he's treating me like a woman…_) or complimented, so I just ignore him and get in the car. He strides around to his side of the car, and when he gets in his deep green eyes are sparkling with happiness.

"Why so happy?" I ask as he puts the radio on and pulls away from the kerb, and he ignores me and carries on singing along to the radio. I shrug it off and sing along with him, and I think back to the last week, which has been hell; Harry and I have been doing almost everything together in an attempt to sort our relationship out (which worked… eventually), Zayn has been trying to sort out his relationship with Gemma, which has been less than successful (she has called him nearly every name under the sun and now refuses to talk him, but nobody except Jordan knows why), and Liam has been moping around like a lost puppy ever since him and Danielle broke up. We've all tried to comfort him and help him through it, but he insists that we all just leave him alone. All in all, One Direction have had a pretty shit week, if truth be told. _And I have a feeling that it's about to get a whole lot worse…_

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><p><em><strong>So there it is, sexy people; just a little fill-in chapter, but please review and tell me what you think, and what you want to happen regarding the whole HarryLouis/JJ thing, and the Liam/Zayn/Gemma fiasco xD thanks for reading, guys :3 xXx**_


	9. What Are They Doing Here?

_**Hey; I should be doing my Drama homework, but I'm writing this for you beautiful people instead XD thank you for your reviews! But please do remember to **__**write your names**__** on them, otherwise I get confused! :L I know that sounds like a really obvious thing, but someone didn't on their last one and I don't know who it is! Thanks for telling me what you would like me to write, and you never know; I might actually do it :D somebody did actually suggest something that I was planning on doing, and I was like "don't steal my idea!" ;D Enjoy! :) xXx**_

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><p><span>What Are They Doing Here?<span>

**[JJ's POV]**

"What are they doing here?" I hiss at Chloe who is stood next to me gripping my hand and trying to get me to calm down. Harry and Louis both walk towards us and the sight of them takes my breath away and makes me really angry at the same time. _Why has she invited __them__? She knows I don't want to see them! They're so much better off without me…_

"I'm sorry but you have to face them some time; just smile and get over it." She whispers back. When Louis looks into my eyes his face lights up like a little kid on Christmas day, and I can't help but smile back. The boys stop just in front of us and I start to panic. Chloe pushes me towards Louis who holds out his arms and pulls me into them before I can protest. I tense before melting into his sweet embrace, and then he discreetly whispers in my ear "please don't run away again." Harry is stood just behind Louis, and when I look at him he smiles, eyes sparkling with happiness and not a single hint of jealousy. A car stops beside us, and Liam jumps out of the passenger side and slams the door shut so hard that I'm surprised it doesn't break. Zayn slides out of the driver's door and locks the car, and then walks over to us, running his hands through his untidy black quiff. Liam walks over to us and stands next to Niall, refusing to even greet anybody, and Louis and I unwillingly break apart. Zayn walks over to Liam and tries to say something to him but Liam turns around and hisses "fuck off" at him. Zayn throws his hands up in defeat and walks away, trying to disguise the hurt on his face. _What the fuck is going on now?_

"Shall we go inside?" Niall asks loudly, trying to get everyone to stop looking at Liam and Zayn, who are glaring at each other

"Sure." Zayn says, pushing past everybody and going inside the restaurant. Harry and Louis shrug at each other before following Zayn inside, and then Niall takes Chloe's hand and leads her in, leaving me outside with Liam. I instantly rush over to him and pull him into a hug, and he wraps his arms around my waist and squeezes me tight.

"What's going on, Liam?" I try to pull away but he shakes his head and keeps a tight grip on my waist. I give in for a while, and then I gently but firmly push him away and look into his hurt-filled eyes. "What happened?"

"I don't know… we just keep arguing over everything!" He sighs in frustration and runs his hands through his messy brown curls. He clearly doesn't want to talk about it, so I grasp his hand and lead him into the restaurant.

"Did you see Niall's hair?" I ask Liam as a waiter directs us to the table.

"Yeah; it looks cute. It suits him." he smiles. He gestures for me to go first, and we both stop when we get to the table. There's two seats left (_obviously_); one in between Zayn and Harry, and one directly opposite which is in between Louis and Chloe. It's obvious where we're meant to sit, but Liam clearly doesn't want to sit next to Zayn, so I walk over and take that seat. Liam nods at me gratefully and sits next to Louis, who raises his eyebrows before shrugging and engaging Liam in a conversation about cars. Everybody starts their own conversations, so I turn to Zayn and try and ask him what's going on, but he politely tells me that it's none of my business. I huff at him and study my menu instead, and Harry bumps my leg with his.

"Hi." He says awkwardly, and I take a deep breath before looking up from my menu and into his deep green eyes.

"Hey." I smile back. Nobody is really paying attention to us except for Chloe, who smiles at me before turning back to Niall and assuring him that his newly dyed, dark brown hair looks fine. Harry and I engage in some pointless small talk, and then the waiter comes over and asks for our orders. Everybody orders their food, Louis orders two bottles of wine and tells the waiter to put everything on a tab, and then the waiter walks away and everybody starts talking again.

"Why did you disappear again, JJ?" Harry asks me suddenly, clearing his throat after nearly every other word, which is something he does when he's nervous.

"Because I needed some space, and I thought you guys would be better off without me." I shrug nonchalantly, hoping that'll be the end of the conversation, but it isn't.

"You know that doesn't work; it didn't work the last time you tried it." He raises his eyebrows at me and I blush. "If you want to be with Louis then go ahead. I'm not bothered anymore." _Whoa; where the hell did that come from?_

"Oh… uh… can we not have this conversation here, please?" I flash my eyes at him, and he smiles.

"I'm just saying; I just want to be friends. I don't love you like that anymore." He lowers his voice slightly, and subtly I look around to check that nobody's listening.

"I'm supposed to believe that?" I shake my head incredulously. "You can't act like a jealous prick one day, and then tell me you're over me a week later. It doesn't work like that."

"Yes it does. We're just friends, okay?" He shrugs.

"Friends that have had sex." I raise my eyebrows and he blushes.

"Why are you being so difficult?" He shakes his head and runs his hands through his hair. "Isn't this what you want; everyone to live happily-ever-after?"

"Yeah, but life doesn't work like that." I'm about to say something else but the waiter arrives and starts placing our meals on the table. Harry's is one of the first to arrive, and he whispers to me "I've finally accepted that we're over and I want you to be happy with my best friend, so just take it and be grateful, okay?" before tucking into his meal and leaving me stunned. _Okay then…_

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><p><strong>[Louis' POV]<strong>

"So; what does everyone wanna do now?" Harry says, addressing everyone. Nobody speaks for a while, and then Chloe speaks up.

"I need to go home." She says, and I notice that she looks slightly red in the cheeks. Niall turns to Chloe and puts his hand to her forehead, and then his eyebrows crease in worry.

"You're burning up, babe, but it is really hot here. I'll take you home now." He hasn't had much to drink so that he can drive her home, but she protests for a while, telling him that she'll be okay on her own. He silences her with a kiss and then says: "There is no way that I'm letting you go home without me. I'll just pay my bit and then we'll leave." He gets out a few notes and places them on the table, and then everybody says goodbye to him and Chloe. Chloe walks over to me and I stand up and give her a hug.

"If you don't end this night with at least a kiss from Jordan," Chloe whispers so softly that only I can hear, "Then you are a moron. She loves you." She steps back and gives me a meaningful look, kisses Jordan on the cheek and then allows Niall to lead her from the restaurant. I just stand there, stunned, and then Harry whistles at me.

"Oi; we're all going back to mine, okay?" He says to me, and I nod absentmindedly and get my share of the bill out of my wallet.

"Oh; bollocks." Jordan says loudly, then looks around to see if anyone heard and blushes. "I've haven't got enough money. Fuck."

"It's okay; I'll pay your share." I take out a few more notes and place them on the table, and she puts her hand on mine.

"Are you sure?" She says, going crimson from the combination of embarrassment and slightly too much wine. "I'll pay you back."

"Don't worry about it." I smile at her, and she walks around the table and hugs me. I hold her for a while, and then I pull away and tuck a stray curl behind her ear. "You need a lift now that Niall's gone, don't you?" She nods at me, and then slips her hand into mine and kisses me on the cheek. I'm slightly worried that she's only doing it because she's had one too many glasses of wine but she seems fairly lucid, so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. Harry beckons for us to leave, and Liam follows, but Zayn grabs hold of his hand and pulls him back. Harry shrugs and keeps walking, and Jordan squeezes my hand tightly and pulls me towards Harry's car. She slides into the backseat, and I'm about to let go of her when she tries to pull me into the car. I resist, and we end up playing some kind of tug-of-war with my arm. Eventually I give up and let her pull me into the backseat. Harry pushes the seat down so he can get in (_stupid two door car…)_ and then turns the engine on. He's just about to pull away, and then he stops and says "fuck" really loudly, scaring the shit out of me and Jordan.

"I've left my wallet in there!" He sighs and turns the engine off. "I'll be right back." He gets out of the car, and just as he is walking inside he gets stopped by a few girls who starting waving their cameras at him.

"Louis…" Jordan says softly, and I turn to face her. "Harry said to me earlier that he doesn't care if we're together. Has he said this to you as well?" I nod, and she grips my hand tighter. "Do you believe him?"

"I think so. He'd have said by now if he was lying." I say honestly, and she smiles. Then she leans forward and captures my lips in a passionate kiss. I lean closer and slide my hand around her waist, and she lets go of my other hand and slides it up my leg. _Okay, she has __definitely__ had too much to drink. _I pull away from her and she smiles at me sheepishly.

"Sorry but I've wanted to do that all night." She grins, and I laugh. I cup her cheeks in my hands and kiss her lightly.

"So have I. But we can't do this in the backseat of Harry's car, okay? Wait till we get home and we'll talk, alright?" I try my very hardest to be sensible when really all I want to do is kiss her and never stop. She starts to protest, but then Harry opens the door again and slides into his seat. Jordan and I instantly move away from each other, and Harry winks at me in the mirror. _Okay, so he saw all of that? Awkward… _  
>"So, back to…" Harry begins, but he's interrupted by the chorus of "What Makes You Beautiful". We both instantly turn to Jordan who blushes delicately before answering her phone. I hear a panicked voice from the other end of the line, and then she suddenly goes pale. She grabs hold of my hand and then hangs up on whoever she was talking to.<p>

"Who was that? What's up?" I ask her. She shakes her head slightly, and Harry and I both ask her what's wrong.

"We need to go to the hospital; Chloe's just gone into labour."

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><p><em><strong>Ooooh, what an ending ;D please review and tell me what you think, and I'll upload a.s.a.p. :) LOVE YOU GUYS! xXx<strong>_


	10. Panic

_**:O 2 chapters in one day? (Technically, considering it was 12.30 in the morning when I uploaded the last one ;D) XD thank you for your reviews and favourites/subscriptions :3 please review and tell me what you think! xXx**_

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><p><span>Panic<span>

**[Harry's POV]**

"Wait, what?" Louis says, completely stunned. Jordan grips his hand tightly, and I can't help but feel a pang of jealousy.

"Chloe. Has. Gone. Into. Labour." She says slowly. "Niall just rang me; he's taken her to the hospital and we need to go there now! She's asking for me." Jordan smiles slightly at that, but endless worry is etched into her features.

"Which hospital?" Louis asks before I have chance to say anything.

"Uh… erm… The one… The one you went to in February." She stammers, unable to remember the name of it.

"Leighton." I say, turning the engine on. "Don't worry; I'll get us there as quick as possible."

"Thanks." They both put their seatbelts on and start talking, but I ignore them and focus on the road. I glance quickly in the rear-view mirror and am hit with another pang of jealousy when I see their entwined hands. _Get over it, Harry. _The thing is; I can't quite work out who I'm more jealous of. I mean, I'm not in love with Louis or anything… _at least, I don't think so… _I just don't want him to be with anybody else because I don't want to lose him. But I especially don't want him to be with JJ. _That's really selfish…_ All through my life JJ has been there for me, and I've been in love with her since I was 11, but we just don't work as a couple, and it's taken me so long to realise that. I just want her to be happy, and if that means that she's happy with someone else, then fine. _But why Louis? _

"Harry, are you even paying attention?" Louis pokes my shoulder. "You just ran a red light!"

"Fuck. Sorry." I shake the thoughts from my head and focus on the road.

* * *

><p><strong>[JJ's POV]<strong>

Harry turns into the hospital car park and parks in the nearest space. He jumps out of the car and pulls the seat forward, and Louis gets out clumsily and pulls me with him. We both head towards the entrance, and Harry grabs two hoodies out of the car and then locks it. He runs to catch up with us and then hands Louis a red hoody and tells him to put it on. Harry puts his purple Jack Wills one on and then grabs my hand out of habit and I squeeze it reassuringly, finding myself unable to let go. Louis opens the entrance door for us, and I drag Harry towards the front desk.

"Uh, hi, is Chloe Horan here?" _Wait; what? _Harry and Louis raise their eyebrows at me and I laugh. "Sorry, Bishop; is Chloe Bishop here? She's having a baby."

"Hang on, love." The nurse checks the computer, and then looks up at me and frowns. "What are your names?"

"Jordan Jones, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson." I say quietly. _Why does she need to know that?_

"Well, usually we don't let people in who aren't family, but I've been told to let all of you in. She's in the maternity ward; down there on the left, take the first right and then left again. Room 3." She points in the right direction and then waves me on. I grab Louis' hand and pull him with me, and Harry follows us. They both pull their hoods over their heads (_Oh, __now__ I understand why they need them…_) and we all stop outside Room 3.

"You first." Louis waves me forwards, and I run inside and head straight for Chloe, who is sat on the side of the bed arguing with Niall.

"Chloe!" I wrap my arms around her and she folds into my embrace. Then she gasps and pulls away from me, and Niall instantly grabs one of her hands.

"Just lie back on the bed and stop being so fucking stubborn!" He says, allowing her to squeeze his hand while she tries to get through the contraction. She sighs and lets go of his hand, and he smooth's her hair out of her face. "Is it over?"

"Yeah. This is fucking painful!" She covers her face with her hands, embarrassed that everyone is looking at her.

"Shall we go and get a coffee, Harry?" Louis says quietly, realising that Chloe just wants some space. Harry nods, and they both walk over and kiss Chloe on the cheek before walking back to the door. They try and convince Niall to go and get a drink, but he refuses to leave Chloe. They give up in the end and then leave the room.

"I'm scared, Twin." Chloe says, shaking slightly. She sits up against the headboard and whispers "I don't want to do this."

"Hey, hey, hey, it's gonna be okay!" I grab her hands and make her look at me. "You've got me and the boys, Liam and Zayn will be here in a bit with your mum, and we're all gonna be here for you, okay?" She nods and then hisses in pain as she's hit with another contraction. A midwife comes bustling in with a clipboard in her hand and walks up to us.

"They're getting closer together." She says, and Chloe nods. "You need to get changed into the gown we gave you when you got here, okay?" Chloe frowns and mutters "disgusting fucking things" before nodding at the midwife, who smiles slightly and then leaves again. Chloe hisses in pain, but rather than clutching her belly she clutches her head.

"What's wrong?" Niall asks, instantly panicking.

"I just have a really bad headache, that's all." She smiles at him, grateful for- but slightly annoyed at- his worrying.

"But that's a sign of high blood pressure! I should get the nurse." He goes to leave but she grabs hold of his hand and pulls him down on the bed next to her.

"Don't leave me." She grabs hold of his hand tightly and is hit with another contraction.

"I won't, I promise." He rubs her back and allows her to squeeze his hand (_which is pretty brave of him considering she's stronger than she looks!_). I look at them together and start to feel like a third wheel, but I still smile; they're going to make great parents. By looking at them, you wouldn't even know that Niall isn't the biological father. _I wonder if Niall will propose to Chloe… I know they've only been together for 5 months, but they're having a child together (kind of…), and it's so obvious that they are madly in love… _My phone rings, interrupting my thoughts; it's Beth. I press "decline".

"I'm just going to get a drink, okay? I'll be right back." Chloe looks like she's about to protest but I leave the room before she can say anything. I find the nearest toilets and hide inside, and then I ring Beth back.

"**You put the phone down on me!" **She says angrily.

"Hello to you too. Yeah, it's because I'm in the hospital; Chloe's having her baby!"

"**What; really? Oh… Please ring me when she's had the baby and tell me whether it's a girl or boy!"**

"Yeah I will. What did you ring me for?"

"**Just to check if you're okay. Have you spoken to Louis about everything yet?"**

"Yeah… kinda… No, not really… I'll speak to you later, okay? I've got to go." We both say goodbye, and then I hang up on her. I quickly check myself in the mirror, and then leave the toilets. I head straight for the nearest drinks machine and get a hot chocolate, and I'm just taking my first sip when Liam comes round the corner and scares the shit out of me.

"Bollocks!" I manage to drip boiling hot drink on a part of my chest that is bare and hiss in pain.

"Sorry!" He gasps and grabs a napkin from the machine. He hands it to me and holds my drink while I clear myself up.

"Moron!" I glare at him and he laughs. "Did you manage to get hold of Chloe's mum before you came here?"

"Yeah, and she brought Joyce with her." Everybody knows the whole story now, including Jack's death. "They're in with Chloe now, so everybody else left to give them some space, except for Niall; he refused to leave, and Chloe wouldn't let him anyway. She's asking for you though." I look down at my feet guiltily; _I shouldn't have left._

"Did Zayn drive you over?" I ask, taking my drink back off of him. He nods, and I start walking towards Chloe's room.

"Yeah; we've kind of sorted things out now… Well, we're not arguing anymore, which is a start." He slips his hand into mine and I smile, but I start to get the feeling that something's wrong. I ignore it and take another sip of my drink, and then Louis sprints around the corner and nearly runs into me, causing me to spill my drink all over myself again. 

"Bollocks! Louis!" I shout angrily and give my drink to Liam again so I can clear myself up… again.

"Jordan you need to come with me now." The panic in his voice makes my heart jump into my throat.

"What's happened?" I ask shakily, forgetting all about the drink that's all over my chest. He doesn't answer; instead he grabs my hand and pulls me towards Chloe's room. I let go of him and run ahead, and when I get there everyone is gathered outside except for Emma (Chloe's mum) and Niall. "What's going on?"

"I don't know if you should go in there, Jordan." Harry takes my hands in his and pulls me away from everyone else. "Chloe… uh, Chloe's bleeding… a lot. Niall is in there, and so is her mum. Everything's going to be okay, but you should probably stay with us." I shake my head violently and push him away and then run into the room.

"You can't come in here, miss." A nurse says, trying to push me away, but I resist her. Chloe is sat on the bed, wincing in pain and surrounded by blood, and the doctor is examining her. Niall is stood at the back of the room with his arms awkwardly around Emma, trying to calm her down.

"We're going to have to do an emergency C-section but we need your consent, Miss Bishop." The doctor says anxiously, and the nurse immediately lets go of me and helps Chloe to lie down on the bed. The doctor walks over to the phone and calls someone, but I don't hear any of his conversation; I'm too focused on Chloe. Tears are flowing steadily down her cheeks and she reaches for me as a nurse walks over to her with a clipboard. Chloe looks at Niall and her mum for assurance, and they both tell her that signing the consent form is the right thing to do. I run over and take her hand and try to assure her that everything is going to be okay, but there's nothing I can say to calm her. She signs the form, and the nurses instantly ready her to be moved.

"We need to take her up to theatre now, miss, so can you move please." A nurse says to me, and I squeeze Chloe's hand reassuringly before moving to stand next to Niall and Emma. Emma instantly pulls me into her arms and hugs me tight, and then all we follow the nurses as they wheel Chloe's bed out of room. Everybody stands in shock as Chloe is wheeled past them, and then they all try and comfort me, but there's only one person I want right now; I hold out my hand, and Louis grasps it tightly and follows as the nurses rush Chloe into the operating room. None of us are allowed in and we're all directed to the waiting room, but Niall, Emma and I all refuse to move. Louis puts his arms around me and refuses to leave me on my own, and Zayn, Liam and Harry head towards the waiting room. Joyce manages to convince Emma to go and sit down in the waiting room with them, and then Niall sits on a chair outside the operating room and stares at the doors, anxiously waiting for someone to come outside and tell him what's going on. I start to cry, and Louis tightens his arms around me and tries to calm me down.

"It's going to be okay, babe." He says, kissing the top of my head. I try to calm down and he pulls away from me and pierces my eyes with his orbs of blue. "They'll look after her and the baby, Jordan."

"I know." I nod, and he wipes away my tears. Then I go and sit in the seat next to Niall, who grabs my hand tightly. "Are you okay?"

"No." He whispers truthfully. "I'm so worried."

"So am I."

* * *

><p><strong>* An hour later *<strong>

"Jordan, wake up." Louis shakes me slightly, and I sleepily open my eyes. I'm sat on his lap but I quickly jump up and look around for Niall; he's stood by the doors talking to a doctor, and I run over and grasp his hand. Louis walks over and grabs my other hand, and the doctor regards us all anxiously.

"As I was saying to Mr Horan; Chloe is stable, and the bleeding has stopped." He wrings his hands.

"What about the baby?" I ask quietly, and the doctor's expression instantly changes to one of sorrow.

"I'm sorry, miss, but the baby was stillborn." The doctor says, and it takes a minute for what he said to sink in. Niall covers his mouth with his hands and tears well up in his eyes.

"No." I shake my head in denial and Louis wraps his arms around me and tries to calm me down. Tears tumble rapidly down my cheeks and I start to shake. "No, it can't be…"

"I'm so sorry, miss. We had to give Chloe general anaesthetic, so she is still unconscious and unaware what has happened. We're going to take her to recovery now, and when she wakes up you may go in and see her, but no more than 2 people at a time."

"Was… was it a boy or a girl?" Niall asks, wiping away the tears that are trickling down his cheeks.

"It was a boy." The doctor answers and Niall sobs quietly. The doctor apologises again and leaves, and Niall sits down on the chair with his head in his hands.

"You said… you said everything would be okay." I cry, pulling away from Louis, and his eyes brim with tears.

"I thought it would be." He whispers, and he pulls me back into his arms. "I'm sorry." I melt into his embrace, sobbing for my lost godson.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry! Don't hurt me! ;D what do you think? Review and tell me! :3 love you guys! xD xXx<strong>_


	11. Pain

_**Hello there! Thank you so much for the reviews, favourites and subscriptions :3 sorry about the last chapter; I'm being rather evil to Chloe, aren't I? And what about Niall too; do you think it'll all get too much and he'll run, or will he stick by Chloe? This chapter kind of moves away from that, but I'll go back, I promise! This is a long one; enjoy! xXx**_

* * *

><p><span>Pain<span>

**[Chloe's POV]**

_It's my fault. _My brain tells me, sucking me into a bottomless abyss of pain, grief and self-loathing. _All. My. Fault. My baby- my son- is dead. _I turn over in bed and stare at the wall. Niall stirs; he moves up to me and drapes his arm over me, and then goes back to sleep. I entwine my fingers with his, grateful for his touch. He's been my rock over the past two days, and if it wasn't for him and Jordan then I probably would have done something stupid. Everybody tries to convince me that it's not my fault, but it is. _He died while he was still inside me; that makes it my fault, doesn't it?_ Everybody is focussing on me but what they don't realise is that Niall lost a son too. He may not have been the biological father, but he's spent the last 5 months mentally preparing himself for being a father, and now he's had that taken away from him. People tell us that maybe it wasn't meant to be, and that we're only 18; we weren't ready anyway. Nobody understands that I was ready to have a baby, and that I would have coped perfectly well. Well, 2 people understand that; Jordan and Niall. Niall may not have been ready at first, but he was there for me, and he came round to it. He said he was going to be a good dad, and that he would always be there for me and the baby. He told me he loved me, and that even though we're only 18, he knows that I'm the one. _But what if this scares him away?_

I glance at the clock; 2am. I really need to go to sleep; Seth's funeral is tomorrow… _well, today_. That's what we called him; Seth Jack Bishop. I asked Niall what he wanted to call my- our- son, and he said "Jack has to be in there somewhere; it doesn't matter whether it's his first name or his middle name, but one of them should be Jack.", which made me cry. _He's so sweet and thoughtful. _I've always planned to call my first son Seth, so we decided on Seth Jack Bishop. I'm not sure if I can face the funeral though. It's just a family gathering; me, Niall, Jordan, Mum, my older brother Cameron, Louis, Zayn, Harry, Liam, Joe and May (Jack's siblings), and Joyce and Bassam (Jack's parents). It hurts to think that Jack won't even be there, but he didn't even know about Seth because I couldn't contact him. _I'm such a bad person…_

"Chloe, why are you still awake?" Niall whispers in my ear, making me jump.

"Can't sleep." Tears roll down my cheeks and I try to discreetly wipe them away so that he doesn't notice. _No such luck._

"Please don't cry, Chloe." He turns onto his back and pulls me with him, and I lean my head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat. He puts his arm around me and traces soothing patterns on my back. Then he kisses the top of my head and whispers "It'll be okay.", and I try my hardest to believe him.

* * *

><p><strong>[JJ's POV]<strong>

I glance at myself in the mirror and start to wish I hadn't; _I look like shit._ I have no make-up on, my hair is sticking up in all directions, and my eyes are all puffy. _Bad dream again. _I glance at my watch; 10.30. I have an hour to get ready before Louis is picking me up and taking me to Chloe's, and then we'll all leave for the church at 12. I have a quick shower, letting the hot water wash away all remnants of my dreams, and when I'm done I stand in front of my wardrobe, unsure what to wear. Then something catches my eye; the black dress that I wore to Mum's funeral. Tears spring to my eyes as memories of that day wash over me, but I grit my teeth and pull the dress and matching shoes out of the wardrobe. I get dressed quickly, aware that I'm running out of time, and then towel-dry my hair. I don't bother with make-up (_I'll just cry it all off anyway_) and then I grab my handbag and shoes and head downstairs. The house has an eerie feeling to it, and the hairs on the back of my neck start to rise.

"Jordan? Where the fuck are you?" Dad yells at me. _No; not today…_

"I… I'm in the hallway, Dad." I start to shake with fear. _Not today not today not today please not today…_

"Get in here now!" He yells again and I try to calm myself. I place my shoes and bag at the bottom of the stairs and go in search of him. He's stood in the kitchen with a bottle of whiskey in his hand. _He's drinking already? _

"Y… yeah, Dad?" I say, desperately trying to sound calm and confident, when really I feel like I'm going to be sick.

"Why haven't you done the fucking washing?" He slurs his words slightly, but I know he's still sober enough to be in charge of his actions.

"I only got up half an hour ago, and I've got to go to a funeral today!" I raise my voice slightly and regret it instantly.

"Don't raise your voice at me, you little bitch!" He screeches at me and steps forward. I instantly flinch and step back which only angers him further. He grabs me by the hair and pulls me towards him and I scream in pain. "You'll do as you're fucking told! I don't care where you have to be!" he shouts in my ear. Then he pushes me away and I stumble, trying to regain my balance.

"Leave me alone!" I cry out, and he glares at me venomously. His fist comes out of nowhere, and suddenly I find myself on the floor. I clutch my mouth in pain and stay down, hoping that he'll leave me alone. He doesn't. He repeatedly kicks me in the gut and I curl up into a ball and cry out in pain.

"You're fucking worthless, just like your whore of a mother!" he spits angrily and kicks me one last time. Then he grabs some money out of my purse and leaves through the front door, not even bothering to close it behind him. I stay curled up on the floor, crying in pain and humiliation. _Why do I let him treat me like this? It's MY house; throw him out for fuck sake!_ But I can't, and I know why; I'm too afraid of him. This happens on a regular basis, but I'm pretty good at hiding it. Nobody knows; not even Louis knows. Chloe doesn't even know. Harry probably thinks that it doesn't happen anymore. The pain in my mouth starts to get unbearable and I slowly raise a hand to my bottom lip; it comes away red. My eyes close in pain and I don't think I can open them again. _I should really get up, but I don't think I can._

"Jordan?" Louis calls my name from the front door. _Shit shit shit shit shit._ "Why is the door open? Jordan?" I don't want him to see me like this but it's too late; his curiosity gets the better of him and he pushes the door open. He calls my name a few times but I'm unable to answer. He wanders through all of the rooms, shouts up the stairs, and then eventually reaches the kitchen (which is at the back of the house.) He doesn't see me at first, and then he finally spots me curled up in the foetal position on the floor. He stares in shock for a moment and then he runs over and kneels on the floor next to me. "Jordan? Oh God… Jordan, can you hear me?" I eventually open my eyes and he sighs in relief. Then he carefully tries to help me sit up but I manage to find my voice and I scream out in pain. He whispers "I'm sorry" over and over again but continues to slowly pull me up from my foetal position. I eventually manage to sit up straight, still clutching my stomach in pain, and he wraps his arms around me and cradles me whilst I cry. He gets his phone out and calls Harry and tells him that we'll be a little late, and that we'll have to go straight to the church, and then soothes me whilst I try and calm down. Eventually the pain in my gut starts to subside and I calm myself down.

"I'm sorry." I say when I'm calm and he glares at me.

"Don't fucking apologise, Jordan. This obviously wasn't your fault. What happened?" He smooth's my hair out of my face, and when I don't answer he jumps up and grabs a clean tea-towel. He kneels down in front of me and dabs around my lip with one hand, and when I hiss out in pain he grabs hold of my hand with his other one. "Who did this, Jordy?"

"Dad." I say without hesitation. _I can't keep it a secret any longer._ His eyes cloud with anger, and he pulls the tea-towel away from my lip. He doesn't say anything for a while; he helps me up off of the floor, sits me down on a chair next to the table, runs the tea-towel under the tap so it's slightly damp and then kneels in front of me and dabs delicately around my lip again. I hate the silence, so I ask "Aren't you afraid of getting blood on your tux?"

"You're more important." He says instantly. Then he finishes dabbing my lip and says "How's your stomach?"

"Better." I stand up and pull him up with me. "The pain is almost gone."

"Good. Now, I'm going to ask you to do something, and I don't want you to say anything; I just want you to trust me and do it, okay?" I'm deeply confused, but I know without a doubt in my heart that I trust him, so I nod. "Turn around."

"Okay." I say shakily. I slowly turn around, and I feel him move my hair over my shoulder. Then he tugs at the zip on my dress. I reach my hand around my back and grab hold of his wrist. "What are you doing?"

"Do you trust me?" He asks calmly, and I nod. "Then let me do this. It's important to me. I need to see how hurt you are." He waits for a second, and I slowly pull my hand away from him. _Why am I doing this? Oh yeah; because I'm in love with him and I'll do anything for him. Moron. _He kisses my neck softly and I relax. Then he pulls the zip down on my dress and lets it fall to the floor. I flush with embarrassment; this is the first time he's seen me like this. He gasps softly and runs his hands over the bruises on my back. He turns me around and his expression turns to anger when he sees the rest of the cuts and bruises all over my belly and legs.

"The… the… the cuts were me." I whisper self-consciously and his eyes flash with concern. He softly brushes his hand over the bruises on my stomach and his touch leaves a trail of fire on my skin. Then he slowly bends down and takes hold of my dress and helps me put it back on. He turns me around and gently does the zip up, and neither of us speaks. I try to hide my embarrassment as I turn to face him, and his expression is a painful mix of anger and sorrow.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asks, and I'm not sure what to say. Then his eyes flash with fury. "I'll kill him."

"No, Lou." I cup his cheeks with my hands and shake my head furiously. "Stay out of it; you'll only make it worse!"

"But I can't let him hurt you like that!" He grabs hold of my hands and keeps them on his cheeks. "Don't you understand how it feels to see you like that? Harry told me what used to happen, but I didn't realise… Oh God." Realisation dawns in his eyes and he pulls my hands away from his cheeks and clasps them in his.

"What?" I say, and his eyes fill with tears.

"Tell me… tell me he didn't?" I suddenly realise that he's worked out my biggest secret and I pull away from him. I shake my head in denial, but he doesn't believe me. "Does he… does he touch you? Does he rape you?" I look down at the floor, refusing to answer him, and he grabs hold of my cheeks and forces me to look him in the eyes. "Tell me, Jordan!"

"He just… he makes me do things I don't want to do." I whisper. Louis pulls me into his arms, careful not to bash my lip in the process, and I burst into tears. _WHY CAN'T MY LIFE BE FUCKING NORMAL? WHY DOES THERE HAVE TO BE SO MUCH FUCKING DRAMA? _Louis tries to sooth me but it doesn't work. He cries with me, and it's in that instant that I realise how much I love him. _But I have to know…_

"Don't cry, Louis." I pull away from him and wipe his tears away. "Why are you crying?"

"Because… because I love you, Jordan, and I can't…" his voice breaks. "I can't bear to think that…"

"Shhh..." I stroke his cheek delicately.

"Why are you comforting me? I should be comforting you! No; I should be out there right now kicking the fucking shit out of that sick, dirty old bastard! What kind of man does that to his own daughter? If I had a daughter I'd love her, not violate her!" He rages, and I lean forward and press my lips to his, ignoring the pain. "No, Jordan…"

"I love you, Louis. I wanna be with you. I don't care what everybody else thinks." I kiss him with so much passion that I nearly pass out from the pain in my lip, and he cups my cheeks in his hands and kisses me back with everything he's got.

"I love you too." He says, pulling away from me. "Be mine?"

"Already am." I say, kissing him again. Then I pull away and he wipes my tears away. "Shall we… shall we go now?"

"Are you sure you can do this? I can phone them and say we can't make it…?" I love that he's already decided that if I don't go, he doesn't go.

"Yes. We're doing this. I have to be there for Chloe. But don't… don't ever tell anybody, okay? If I want to tell someone then I will, but until then I'll just have to deal with it…"

"Oh no, Jordan. You're not coming back here ever again. You're moving to London with me." He smiles slightly.

"But… but… but you'll be gone for ages! And what if we break up? Where will I live?" I say incredulously. _We've only just got together and he's already asked me to move in!_

"Simple; we won't break up." He smiles, and I shake my head. _How can I decide that right now? I'm so confused?_

"Can we… can we talk about this later? We'll talk after the… the funeral, okay?" I say, and he kisses me again.

"Okay. But if your Dad's here then I'm gonna beat the shit out of him." He says angrily, and I don't doubt him for a second, which scares me.

"No you won't." I take his hand and lead him towards the front door. I quickly put my shoes on, grab my bag, and then walk out of the door. Louis follows me and slams the door behind him, and then he grabs hold of my wrist and pulls me back to him.

"Tell me this is real. Tell me that you are finally mine." He says, blushing, and I reach up and stroke his cheek softly.

"This is real. I'm yours, and you're mine." I kiss him again, and finally, deep in my heart, I start to believe that things are going to get better.

* * *

><p><em><strong>So much drama! xD Sorry if anyone is offended by the Dad-violating-daughter issue; I know it's sick, but it does happen in real life, and I thought that it was necessary to the story-line. I apologise if anyone is offended by it.<br>LOUIS AND JJ ARE FINALLY TOGETHER! Should she accept his offer and move in with him? And do you think her past with her Dad is going to eventually cause problems between her and Louis? And what about Harry? Review and tell me what you think about this chapter, and what you think should happen! :3 xXx **_


	12. Grief

_**Hello again! Gawd, I've written quite a few chapters recently, haven't I? xD I do actually have homework to do before I go back to school, so don't be surprised if the gap between chapters gets bigger… sorry! Thank you so much for your reviews! :3 everyone seems to be really happy with Louis+JJ, and people really want to know what's going on with Zayn and Liam; well, read on and you might just find out ;D Enjoy, and please review xXx**_

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><p><span>Grief<span>

**[Liam's POV]**

"Okay; Louis just phoned and told me that they're gonna be late, so we all should head to the church now." Harry says, and we all have the same thought; Louis and JJ are finally 'getting it on'. _Great timing… not. _Harry looks really unhappy, so I walk over to him and hold him back.

"You okay?" I ask him quietly.

"No. I'm really worried. Louis sounded really… I dunno… panicked." He shrugs, but when he looks at me his eyes are full of worry and confusion. "Something's wrong, Liam."

"Louis is there; he'll look after her. If it was really serious then he'd tell you and you'd be there, okay? Just relax." I smile and give him a quick hug, then Zayn calls my name and I blush slightly. I turn around and he's beckoning me to go over to him. Harry nods at me and then goes to talk to Niall, and I slowly walk over to Zayn.

"We're gonna go now, okay." He smiles slightly and I can't help but smile back.

"Okay. Shall I go and get Harry? He was supposed to be going with Louis and Jordan, but now someone else will have to give him a lift." I ask Zayn but he instantly shakes his head.

"No, he can go with Niall and Chloe." He says firmly, and I'm a little taken aback. Zayn calls out "We're going now, okay? See you there." and everybody nods. Well, Harry and Niall nod and Chloe just looks at us blankly. I just want to take her into my arms and comfort her; she looks so lost and empty. _This must be so hard for her. _And Niall; he's putting on a brave face for Chloe but I know that he's falling apart inside. Niall's always been good with children, but we weren't sure if he was ready for one of his own. _How wrong we were…_ I wave goodbye to everyone and then jump into Zayn's car. He turns the radio on and it comes on full blast which makes us both jump. He chuckles slightly and turns it down, and then pulls away from the kerb. I watch as the houses fly by, and as we get further away from the Chloe's house I start to feel uneasy; _this isn't the way to the church, is it? _I've only been once (Jordan's Mum's funeral) but I'm pretty sure we just missed the turning… I mention this to Zayn but he just smiles and ignores me... _Okay, what's going on?_ My doubts are confirmed when I spot the church looming in the distance. All of a sudden Zayn pulls the car over into a deserted car park and turns the engine off.

"Get out of the car." He says, unclipping his belt and opening his door. I'm a little afraid but I obey him nonetheless; I unclip my seatbelt and climb out of the car. When I get out I see he's already out; he's leaning against the bonnet with his hands in his jacket pockets, and I can't help but ogle at how sexy he looks. _Shut up Liam. _He gestures for me to stand next to him, and I hesitate slightly before joining him. He watches the clouds for a while, and I watch him. All of a sudden he attacks me; he stands over me and grabs my wrists, pinning my hands to the bonnet. I start to struggle, and then he roughly presses his lips to mine. I'm surprised but I don't hesitate to kiss him back; I slip my tongue into his mouth and clash is with his in a frenzy of passion while he presses his pelvis against mine. He lets go of my wrists and slides his arms around me, holding me to him, and I snake my hands up to his firm shoulders and grip them, refusing to let go. Then the urgency in his kiss disappears and he pulls away from me, still holding me against him.

"Whoa. Where did that come from?" I smile at him, leaning my forehead against his.

"I can't stop thinking about you, Liam, and it's doing my head in. I had to do something." He presses his lips to mine again and I melt into the kiss. Then my rational thoughts take over and I push him away.

"No, Zayn. You made it perfectly clear that you don't want this." My eyes brim with tears but I refuse to let them fall. I summon the strength to walk away from him, but I only get a few steps away from him when he grabs my hand and pulls me back.

"I'm sorry, Liam! I'm so confused." He leans in to kiss me again but I turn my head and he only gets my cheek. "Liam…"

"No, Zayn. You can do this; you can't just tell me you don't want me one minute and then kiss me the next! I won't let you treat me like that!" I don't care how much I sound like a girl; I refuse to let him play with my heart like this. I push him away, shove my hands in my pockets and then walk away. The church is in walking distance… ish. _I'll be fine. _Zayn calls my name a few times but I completely ignore him. Then I hear footsteps behind me, and he runs in front of me and places his hands on my chest.

"Don't run away from me Liam. Please." I try to walk around him but he shadows me, not letting me past. Then he blurts out "I love you."

"What?" I stop dead and my heart almost stops as well. _No. Way. _"What did you say?"

"I… I love you, Liam. That's why Gemma and I broke up; because I told her what happened and she made me realise that I'm in love with you!" He grabs my cheeks and presses his lips to mine, kissing me so hard that I start to feel dizzy. I pull away from him and get lost in his eyes.

"I love you too, Zayn. But I…" I don't know what to say.

"I just… I can't tell anyone yet, Liam. Can you understand that?" He pleads with me, his big brown eyes sucking me in.

"Yes, Zayn; I can. But I won't be your dirty little secret!" And with that I run away from him. He tries to catch up with me, but even in a suit I'm faster than him. I've always been athletic, and I test my limits; I keep running no matter how much I need to stop. Zayn stops chasing me but I keep running along the winding roads until I reach the church. I stop outside, completely out of breath and ready to collapse, and then I can't hold it in any longer; I start to cry. Tears tumble down my cheeks at an unstoppable rate and I struggle to breathe. _What am I going to do?_

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><p><strong>[Louis' POV]<strong>

I stop the car in the church car park and spot Harry and Niall stood just inside the graveyard gates. Chloe is nowhere to be seen, and neither are Zayn or Liam. _Where are they?_ Jordan is sitting next to me, examining her painfully swollen lip in the mirror and worrying about what people will say.

"They'll probably think we've been having rough sex." I joke but she doesn't find the funny side of it and glares at me. _Oops._ Her eyes are still red from crying and she shifts uncomfortably in her seat with her hand on her side, trying not to make it obvious that she's in pain. I lean in to kiss her but she turns her head so that I only get her cheek. I frown at her but she tells me that she isn't ready for people to know yet, and that we need to get today over and done with before we cause more arguments. I understand where she's coming from, but it doesn't mean I'm happy about it. She climbs gracefully out of the car and heads straight for Niall, no doubt to ask about Chloe. I see Niall and Harry's shocked expressions as they notice her lip and I lock the car and head over to calm their fears. They're both trying to get the story out of her but she instantly clams up and refuses to say anything, tears threatening to fall down her already-flushed cheeks. I'm about to defend her when Chloe walks out of the church doors, wearing all black and talking to a vicar who is wearing a solemn expression. Jordan instantly runs up to her and takes the poor girl into her arms, and Chloe instantly starts crying, tears running down her already tear-stained cheeks. Jordan holds her tight and tries to sooth her, and Niall is about to walk over when Harry stops him.

"Leave them be, Niall; Chloe just needs her Twin right now." Harry smiles sadly and Niall nods. Chloe's eyes are filled with pain, anguish and grief, but Niall's are completely devoid of emotion. It's like he's working on auto-pilot; all the actions are there, but there's no thoughts or feelings behind them. Harry asks me what happened to Jordan but I tell him that it's best to leave it. "Don't get angry but I have to ask; was it you?" I'm not really surprised that he's asked, to be honest. I assure him that it wasn't me and his eyes flood with relief. He turns to ask Niall something and I hear a soft sound; crying. It sounds like a boy, and I go in search of the source of the sound. I creep around the side of the church and find a boy in a suit stood facing away from me, and I recognise his mad brown hair instantly. He hears the crunch of the gravel as I walk up behind him and he shudders, trying to calm his sobs. I approach him carefully and place my hand tenderly on his arm. He turns to face me and I'm struck by the pain in his eyes. I hold my arms out and he folds into them, sobbing quietly. I rub his back soothingly and try to help him calm down, and then I pull away and look into his eyes.

"What's wrong, Liam?" I ask him, and he steps away from me and wipes his eyes. He mumbles "nothing" but I don't believe him. "Bullshit. I know you, Liam; you wouldn't be crying unless it's something important, so spit it out."

"It doesn't matter." He shakes his head and starts to walk away but I pull him back.

"What's going on, Liam? Has it got something to do with Zayn?" I ask and his eyes flash; _I've struck a nerve._ He's about to come out with a retort when I hear the crunch of gravel behind me. Jordan appears at my arm, her eyes red-rimmed and full of fresh tears, and Liam looks at her with concern.

"They're gonna start in a minute." She says solemnly and I wipe her tears from her cheeks. Liam realises that it's best not to ask her about her lip so he just pulls her into a tight hug. She starts shaking as she tries to hold her sobs in and he sooths her. Then I hear a car approaching, and I spot Zayn's sleek black car racing through the gates. He stops it right next to us and gets out. Liam gently pushes Jordan towards me and she fall into my arms, and I rock her gently as she tries to remain calm.

"Just go." Liam's eyes flash with panic as Zayn climbs out of the car and slams the door behind him. I start to speak but decide that it's best if I leave; I can't deal with anymore drama right now.

"Okay, but hurry up." I slip my hand into Jordan's and gently tug her away. We walk back towards everyone in silence, and when we get there I start to pull my hand away from hers but she grips it tightly and refuses to let me go.

"Please don't leave me." She whispers, her voice cracking on the last word.

"I won't; I promise." I whisper back, and it's a promise that I intend to keep.

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><p><em><strong>So, what do you think? Are you tired of all the pissing about and just want Zayn and Liam to get together? Or do you want more drama? Review and tell me! Love you guys xXx<strong>_


	13. Nightmares Have Happy Endings Too

_**Hello again! :D thank you so much for your reviews! Hope you like this one; it's only a little fill-in chapter but it's gonna end-up happier than the last couple of chapters, as requested by one of my most trusted advisers ;) **_I don't know if this will be my last chapter before Christmas, but just in case; Merry Christmas! Enjoy xXx_****_

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><p><span>Nightmares Have Happy Endings Too<span>

*** 2 Weeks Later ***

**[JJ's POV]**

_**Fear. Panic. Pain. Heavy breathing. Hands in places they shouldn't be. More panic. Being forced do things. Anger. Confinement. Faster. Harder. Pain-screaming-anger-violence-pain-blindness... Drifting… Floating… Pitch black.**_

I jolt awake, sweat dripping down my face and mixing with my salty tears. My whole body quivers with fear and bile rises in my throat. In my drowsy state I don't recognise where I am but my instincts show me where to go; I run for the bathroom and make it just in time. I hear footsteps behind me but I ignore them and vomit noisily into the toilet. A soft hand pulls my hair away from my face while another rubs my back reassuringly. I cry hysterically, getting myself in to so much of a state that I make myself vomit even more. A warm voice whispers soothing things in my ear, trying to get me to calm down, but it doesn't work. I vomit until I can vomit no more and a hand appears in front of my face and gently wipes around my mouth with tissue. I'm pulled into a pair of strong arms and they rock me back and forth while my tears fall soundlessly down my cheeks. The nightmare sticks in the front of my mind; I try to push it away but it stays, taunting me. I hear singing, and I fall asleep to the sweet sound of a kindred spirit singing my worries away.

_**Oh be my baby; I'll look after you, after you. Oh, be my baby.  
><strong>__**It's always have and never hold. You've begun to feel like home.  
><strong>__**What's mine is yours to leave or take; what's mine is yours to make your own.**_

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><p>My eyes slowly drift open and I feel as if I've been asleep for a thousand years. I look around; <em>where the fuck am I? <em>Then I realise where I am; the same place I've been for the past 2 weeks: the 'flat' in Anne's back garden. I was supposed to be sleeping on the floor but I'm so glad that I ended up in the bed with Louis (not like that!) instead. I glance at the clock; 6am. _Are you kidding?_ Then memories of last night hit me and I start to shake with fear again. _The dream felt so real… _I sit up in bed and try to calm myself down but my irrational thoughts take over. I hear a creak in the bed behind me and then someone wraps their arms around me and pulls me against them. As soon as their skin comes into contact with mine my fear disappears and I sigh with relief.

"Are you okay?" Louis whispers softly into my ear. I nod slightly and he pulls me into his lap. "I don't believe you."

"No really; I feel much better." I rest my head in the crook of his neck and he kisses the top of my head. I lean up and kiss his neck softly and whisper "thanks for last night."

"No problem." He replies and his arms instantly tighten around me. "I was so scared... The last time I saw you go crazy like that was when… when your mum died, and I had Harry with me that time. I just…."

"Shhh." I sit up and wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. "I'm so sorry for scaring you."

"Don't apologise, Jordy." He kisses me softly and rests his forehead against mine. He looks at me over the rim of his glasses and asks me: "Does that happen every night?" I nod slightly and his eyes flood with concern. "Then I am never letting you sleep alone again."

"That's gonna be a bit difficult considering that you're going back to London tomorrow night." I sigh and he kisses my cheek.

"So come with me! You've already been offered a place at UCl, and it's not too late to take it! Please!" He looks at me with puppy dog eyes and I feel myself giving in.

"But… but you live with Harry! I know we told everyone about us last week and he reckons he's fine with it, but won't it be awkward?" I have a brief flash back of what happened last week…

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><p>"<em>Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked Louis as he pulled me towards the family room where everyone was gathered.<em>

"_We need to tell them, Jordan; we can't keep it a secret any longer. If it ends up in an argument then we'll just have to deal with it, okay?" He turned and stroked my cheek lightly. "I love you, and I want everyone to see that." I nodded, and he pushed me into the room first. __**Jackass. **__Niall was sat in the chair closest to us and Chloe was sat on his lap, holding his hand. Liam and Zayn we're sat at opposite ends of the sofa and Harry was sat in between them, looking thoroughly pissed off._

"_Guys, I have something to say." Louis said when I refused to say anything. __**This wasn't my fucking idea; **__**he**__** can tell everyone! **__Chloe looked at me knowingly, and I realised that she'd probably known the whole time anyway. Niall winked at me, which meant that he knew as well, and Liam raised an eyebrow as if to say 'do you really think you can fool me?'. __**Great; looks like we're just telling Zayn and Harry then…**__ I thought to myself. Louis took a deep breath and then turned to face Harry. "Harry, I probably should have asked you first but we've talked about this, so…" He was about to say something when realisation dawned on Harry._

"_You're together, aren't you? Like, __together__ together?" He spoke without emotion and I started to panic. __**Here goes…**_

"_Yes." Louis said boldly, and Harry stood up. He slowly walked towards us and the room flooded with unbearable tension._

"_It's about time." Harry smiled, and the room collectively breathed a sigh of relief. He hugged me and kissed me on the cheek, and then hugged Louis tightly. Louis started to speak but Harry covered his mouth with his hand. "Don't bother. I'm not mad. I'm glad you're happy. You both deserve each other." He said it with the most sincerity he could, and I believed him. Almost._

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><p>"I'll ask him first, okay!" Louis runs his hands up and down my waist and I tighten my legs around him. "I know we've only been together for 2 weeks but we've been in love for nearly 6 months and I just… I can't bear to let you go back to that… that bastard. Please, Jordan." He rests his forehead against mine again and his bright blue eyes peer into mine.<p>

"But what about my house; do I just sign it over to my Dad?" I ask, running out of excuses.

"No. Phone the police, kick him out and then sell the house." He says and I'm taken aback by his bluntness. Then his eyes soften and he smiles sadly. "That's just one of the options. Please, just say yes?" _Am I really ready for this?_

"Louis…" His soft blue eyes plead with me and I feel all my defence slipping away. "Okay, but you have to ask Harry first, alright?" Louis grins at me and pushes me back on the bed, straddling me. He starts tickling me and I squeal and start laughing. He laughs with me, and then he leans down and kisses me lightly. He stops tickling me and cups my cheeks in his hands as he deepens the kiss. My hands slide up his bare chest and grip his shoulders and he slips his tongue into my mouth. One of his hands start to slide up my top and I freeze. He instantly pulls his hand away and pulls away from the kiss. He looks down into my eyes with concern and embarrassment.

"Too far?" he asks me and I nod. "I'm sorry! I got carried away… I just didn't think! I'm so sorry!" He climbs off of me and sits on the floor. _I feel really stupid now… I'm just… I can't… Ugh, he's not gonna hurt me! _I jump off of the bed and kneel down in front of him.

"Don't worry!" I lean in and press my lips to his and he hesitantly kisses me back. "I'm just…. I can't… I…"

"I understand." He softly strokes my cheek with his hand and I lean into his touch.

"I'm so sorry. I'm such an idiot…" I sigh and he pulls me into his lap again, cradling me.

"You're not an idiot! Bad… things… have happened, and you need time to get over it! I shouldn't have been so forward." I start to protest but he changes the subject and speaks over me. "Are you still tired? It's only half 6."

"Yeah." I get up and crawl under the covers. He grabs a blanket and pillow and starts to make a bed on the floor but I laugh at him. "Get in here with me, you div. And don't argue!" I cut him off just as he's about to protest and he smiles at me. He takes his glasses off and places them on the bedside table and then slides under the covers with me. I lean my head on his chest and he runs his hands through my hair.

"So you're definitely gonna move to London with me?" He whipsers and I can hear the smile in his voice. _I didn't realise he wanted this so much._ I nod and he laughs. "Awesome. Chloe's gonna be so happy." I smile at that, and I feel all my doubts start to melt away. _Louis and I are going to be fine._

"Louis…" I sigh, pulling the covers tighter around us. "Can you… can you sing me to sleep, please? I don't think… If you do that, I don't think I'll have any nightmares."

"Sure." He kisses the top of my head and I close my eyes, safe in his loving embrace.

_**So much craziness surroundin' me  
>So much goin' on, it gets hard to breathe<br>**__**When all my faith has gone, you bring it back to me; you make it real for me  
><strong>__**  
>When I'm not sure about my priorities<br>**__**When I've lost sight of where I'm meant to be  
><strong>__**Like holy water washin' over me; you make it real for me  
><strong>__**  
>And I'm runnin' to you, baby<br>**__**You are the only one who saved me**_

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><p><em><strong>Well, there you go guys; JJ has agreed to move in with Louis, but her past with her Dad is already starting to cause them problems! Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter and what you think should happen next. I especially love hearing your ideas because it's nice to know that you guys really think about this story even after you've finished reading the chapter (: xXx<strong>_

_**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN THE LYRICS USED IN THIS CHAPTER, THEY WERE USED FOR FICTIONAL PURPOSE ONLY**_

_**First lyrics were: The Fray- Look After You  
><strong>__**Second lyrics were: James Morrison- You Make It Real**_


	14. Sex and Fear

_**Hello again! :D thank you so much for your feedback! Just to answer a few questions:**_

_**Sadie- I don't think I'll be doing a third story but I do think this one has quite a few chapters left before it's finished!**_

_**Gemma- Yeah, I read that review too and I was surprised because I never even considered putting Harry and Gemma together! I don't think it's gonna happen though, sorry! **_

_**THIS CHAPTER HAS ADULT CONTENT; GRAPHIC **__**HOMOSEXUAL**__** ADULT CONTENT. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. Enjoy XD xXx**_

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><p><span>Sex and Fear<span>

**[Zayn's POV]**

"Wake up, Z." someone whispers softly in my ear and I slowly open my eyes. _I've never been called Z before… Well, only by one person… I think… _I'm so tired that I don't really remember anything at all, and then I roll over in the darkness and just about make out a figure lying next to me, grimacing and waiting for my reaction. _What the fuck happened? _Then the memories hit me like a ton of bricks:

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><p><em>It was only about 9pm, and I was pacing backwards and forwards, almost burning a path in the floor. <em>_**What am I going to do? **__I asked myself. The past two weeks had been hell; Liam refused to talk to me for a few days, and then I finally persuaded him to. We spent hours going over and over it all and it ended up in us kissing. Again. And then Liam ran away. Again. Because I opened my big mouth, __again__, and ruined everything. __**I love him. **__I thought to myself. __**But I'm too afraid of everybody knowing that. I seriously need to get a grip; Liam loves me, and he's willing to let everybody know that, but I keep pushing him away. I either need to tell him once and for all that it's not going to happen, or I need to get over my fears and just be with him. **__I knew that Liam was in the bedroom that he shared with Niall in the 'flat', and I decided that I needed to go and speak with him. I marched out of the front room and down the hall, slamming the door on my way out. I picked up speed and ran outside. Luckily everyone else had gone out for a drink; Liam said he didn't feel like going out and watching everybody get drunk, and I got bored and came back early. I ran inside the little bungalow and quietly closed the door behind me, and then I crept up to his bedroom door. I could hear Taio Cruz blasting out from inside, and I knocked on the door loud enough for him to hear. I heard the music stop, and then the door opened. Liam answered the door with just a pair of grey joggers resting on his hips, his toned muscles and sexy abs left bare, and my heart started racing._

"_What do you want?" Liam asked quietly, surprised to see me there. I grabbed him by the waist and pulled him close, and he started to protest but I cut him off by pressing my lips to his. He didn't hesitate in kissing me back and his hands slid up my shoulders and around my neck. I pushed him through the door and kicked it shut behind us, and then I span him around and pushed him up against the wall, still keeping our lips locked together in a frenzy of passion and sexual tension. He bit my bottom lip suggestively and I slipped my tongue into his mouth, desperate to taste him. He pulled away from me and moved his lips to my neck, and I moaned as he pressed his pelvis against mine. "Are. You. Sure. About. This. Z?" He whispered in between kisses, and I couldn't help falling in love with the way he called me "Z"._

"_From the moment I met you, everything changed. I knew I had to get you, whatever the pain; I had to take you and make you mine." I recited the lyrics to one of our songs and he looked up into my eyes and smiled._

"_I would walk through the desert; I would walk down the aisle." He sang, cupping my cheeks in his hands and capturing my eyes with his. "I would swim all the oceans just to see you smile; whatever it takes is fine."_

"_So put your hands up." I sang, taking his hands and pinning them above his head._ "_Cause it's a stand up." I whispered in his ear as my hand slid down his body and I started palming his erection, which made him moan. "And I won't be leaving 'til I finish stealing every piece of your heart." I kissed his neck hungrily, sucking and leaving little love bites all over his neck and collarbone. He desperately tried to wrestle his hands out of my grip but I fought him, and then he finally managed to succeed. He used his new found freedom to push me away, and then he grabbed my top with both hands and pulled it over my head. His hands instantly jumped to my bare chest, running all over my slight muscles and hardened nipples. I moaned and pressed my hips against his, growing more and more aroused by the second, and he giggled and pushed me down onto the bed. He undid the zip on my chinos and slowly pulled them off, blushing slightly when he saw the bulge in my boxers. He slowly pulled his joggers off, teasing me, and then I abruptly sat up and pulled him down onto the bed with me. He laughed again and I __pinned him onto his back; I straddled him and then kissed him forcefully, fighting for dominance. He clashed his tongue with mine and then rolled over and pushed me onto my back, winning the fight for dominance. He slid his hand into my boxers and gently wrapped his hand around my dick. I moaned loudly against his lips and he moved his hand up and down, occasionally running his thumb over the head, and I couldn't take it anymore; I pushed him away from me and got off of the bed, pulling him with me. I hooked my thumbs in his boxers and pulled them down, and as he kicked them off I took mine off and threw them across the room. We looked at each other, drinking in the sight of each other naked, and then I reached for him and pulled him close. I kissed his neck lightly and my hand slid down his body, but he grabbed my wrist and stopped me._

"_Are you sure about this?" He whispered, wrapping his arms around my neck and resting his forehead against mine. "If we do this, it means we're together, okay? I'm not gonna fuck you and then let you leave again. If we do this; you're mine."_

"_Who says __you__ are gonna fuck __me__?" I laughed, kissing his lips lightly. "I've made my decision, Liam; I love you, and I'm not letting you go. Oh, one more thing; __you__ are __mine.__" I crashed my lips against his passionately and my hand slid down his body and wrapped around his dick. He moaned loudly, his legs going weak, and I teased him gently._

"_Oh my God, Z…" He moaned, pulling his lips away from mine and attacking my neck with his kisses. Suddenly he grabbed hold of my wrist and regretfully pulled my hand away, and then ran to the chest of drawers by his bed. He rummaged through them and then came back with a little tub in his hand. He squeezed his eyes shut and handed me the tub, too embarrassed to even look me in the eye. I laughed quietly and examined the tub; lube._

"_What do you want me to do with this, Liam?" I laughed seductively and kissed his neck softly. He shivered with pleasure and mumbled something that I pretended not to hear. "What was that, Liam?"_

"_I… I… I want you to fuck me." He whispered and I leaned down and gently ran my tongue over one of his dark nipples, teasing him and eliciting a moan of pleasure from him._

"_Louder, Liam." I kissed all the way up his chest and collarbone and then softly bit him on the neck, causing him to moan again._

"_I want you to fuck me, Zayn." He shivered with pleasure again and I decided I was done with teasing._

"_Then get on the bed." I whispered into his ear and he shivered with anticipation…_

_*** about an hour later ***_

"_You're not going to leave, are you?" Liam whispered with tears in his voice as we both put our boxers on, and I laughed. _

"_No, Liam." I knelt on the bed in front of him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He draped his arms around my shoulders and ran his hands through my messy hair. "I'm not leaving you, I promise." I lay back down on the bed and pulled him with me so that his head was resting on my chest. Then I gently pulled the cover over us and wrapped my arm around him._

"_I love you, Z." Liam whispered, draping his arm over me and entwining his fingers with mine._

"_I love you too, Liam." I kissed the top of his head and we fell asleep in each other's arms._

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><p>"Are you okay?" Liam whispers. "You kinda went blank there for a while…"<p>

"Yeah, I'm fine." I lean in and kiss him on the lips. "Why did you wake me up?"

"I just heard someone come into the flat." He whispers, jumping up and putting his joggers on. He throws a pair of clean joggers and a hoody at me and tells me to put them on.

"Now who's being secretive?" I whisper back, quickly putting the clothes on. Then I pull him back into bed with me and kiss him. He kisses me back softly and then gently pushes me away.

"I just don't think that finding us in bed together is a very good way for everyone to find out about us, Z." He gets up off of the bed, unsure what to do.

"Just get back into bed, Liam. Niall shares this bed with you, doesn't he?" I laugh quietly and he glares at me. I jump up out of bed and grip his hands. "C'mon; if anyone asks, which I doubt they will, then we'll just say that we were talking in here and then fell asleep, okay?"

"No. Let's go out there and see who it is. Chances are they're pissed and need help anyway." He laughs quietly and then walks away. I grab his hand and pull him back to face me, and then I push him up against the wall and kiss him hungrily. He moans quietly as I move my lips to his neck, kissing the marks that I left last night. His hands grip my hips and he grinds against me before gathering his senses and letting go of me.

"Last night was amazing." I whisper into his ear and he shivers in pleasure. "We'll have to do it again sometime."

"You mean you're really not leaving me?" He grabs my cheeks and moves my face in front of his so he can look into my eyes.

"No, Liam. This is it. Us. We'll tell everybody soon, I promise." I kiss him one more time and then regretfully pull away and open the bedroom door. I creep out of the room and hear a bang, and Liam instantly grabs my hand. I reassure him that everything's fine and then try to calm my own fears as I follow the sound. Then I hear a voice with so much fear in it that I know for sure; something serious is going on.

"He's coming, Lou! I knew we shouldn't have gone to the police!" Jordan cries, and I spot her in the living room area. She sobs heavily as Louis locks the door.

"I know you're scared, baby, but you need to calm down! I've phoned the police again and they'll be here in a minute." He backs away from the door and pulls Jordan into his arms, soothing her. Liam and I decide it's time to make our entrance and he pushes me in first. I stumble into the room with Liam following and Louis instantly takes up a protective stance, pushing Jordan behind him.

"Zayn? Liam? Don't fucking scare me like that!" Louis relaxes slightly and steps towards us.

"What the fuck is going on, Louis?" I ask him, and Liam runs over to Jordan. She falls into his arms and he cradles her, trying to calm her down.

"It's Jordan's Dad." Louis says, and he points to the couch. "You might wanna sit down; we're gonna be here for a while."

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><p><strong>So, what do you think? please review and tell me what you think (not just of the sex scene, but of the whole ZaynLiam thing too :D)! Love you guys xXx**

**DISCLAIMER; ANY LYRICS I USED IN THIS CHAPTER ARE NOT OWNED BY ME.**

**Lyrics were: Stand Up- One Direction**

**oh, and one more thing; MERRY CHRISTMAS! :D :P**


	15. Hiding and Fighting

_**Well, 'ello there! :D I hope you all had a good Christmas! I've been spending time with my family (okay, well, actually I've spent most of the time hiding in my room reading the House Of Night books and playing on the Wii, but whatever... xD), so I haven't been able to write, but I have made an effort for you guys :) thanks so much to my loyal friendlings (Twin, Beth and Gemma (and now Sam)) who review a lot, but thanks to the new reviewers who leave really nice comments :3 I know it sounds sad, it really makes me happy when I get an email saying someone has reviewed/favourited/subscribed to my stories :3 again, sorry this has taken so long, but it's here now, so: enjoy! xXx**_

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><p><span>Hiding and Fighting<span>

**[JJ's POV]**

"He did what?" Liam jumps up from the sofa and clenches his fists, his features settling into a mask of rage.

"Calm down, Liam." Zayn grabs hold of Liam's wrist and pulls him back down, and Liam pulls away and wraps his arms around me as I sob hysterically in the corner of the sofa. Louis carries on pacing and starts telling them everything.

"So we phoned the police, gave a statement, and then came back here." He continues, but Zayn interrupts.

"That's where you disappeared off to earlier? Why didn't you tell us?" He directs the last question at me, and I hit breaking point; I lift my head out of Liam's arms and glare at Zayn.

"Maybe because I didn't fancy telling the whole world that I'm legally an adult, yet my Dad still molests me on a regular basis?" I scream at him and they all stare at me in shock. The way I say "still" provokes a reaction from Louis, and he looks like he's going to say something but stops, looking slightly sick. I dissolve into sobs again and Zayn apologises earnestly. Louis explains that we'd gone to a pub with everyone and then decided not to get absolutely trashed, so we all left at the pub about midnight. The pub isn't too far from here, so we had decided to walk.

"We were walking back when he stopped us. He tried to get to Jordan but I pulled her back. He had a bottle in his hand and he threw it at her. I pulled her out of the way in time, picked her up and fucking legged it. He was shouting some shit after us like 'this isn't over', 'I know where you all live' and 'you need to sleep with one eye open'. I wasn't really listening; all I could think about was that I needed to get Jordan away from him. I could hear the others running after us, but I don't know where there are. I think they went into the house to wake Anne and Robin up. As soon as we got back I phoned the police, and they should be here in a minute." He kneels down in front of me and grabs hold of my hand. I lift my head and look into his fear-filled eyes. He tries to clamp down on his fear and says: "It's going to be okay."

"No it isn't! What if he hurts one of the boys? Or Anne and Robin? What if…" I suck in a shocked breath and a horrible thought rips through me like a dagger. "What if it's Chloe that he hurts? Or you? We need to leave!" I jump up and head for the door but he blocks my path. He grabs hold of my wrists and looks deep in to my eyes.

"You. Are. Not. Going. Anywhere. The police will be here in a minute. Just stay calm." I start to protest and then my shoulders sag in defeat. He pulls me into his arms and rocks me back and forth, and Zayn and Liam have a heated conversation on the sofa. Then I hear banging on the door and I freak; I scream and run towards Liam, trying to drag Louis with me. Zayn pushes me and Liam behind him, and Louis summons as much strength as he can and faces the door.

"Let me in! I need to see Jordan!" I hear a familiar agitated voice from outside and sob heavily. Louis unlocks the door and wrenches it open; Chloe runs inside, completely ignoring everyone else, and pulls me into her arms. She kisses the top of my head and whispers soothing things into my ear. I sob again and look up at Louis, who is just about to slam the door when Robin (Harry's stepdad) and Niall run into the room. They're closely followed by Harry, who has hold of his very scared mum by her hand and is dragging her towards the bungalow. He pushes her inside and slams the door behind him, and then Louis locks it. Harry instantly rushes over to me and tries to hug me, but Chloe won't let me out of her arms. Robin tells everybody to be quiet, and then he asks us what's going on. There's an awkward silence, and Niall, Robin, Harry, Chloe and Anne all look at me and wait for an answer.

"Jordan's Dad has done some bad things. We called the police. He escaped and is now seeking revenge." Louis explains in clipped tones, completely focussed on me. My eyes flash with shock and gratitude and he smiles back briefly before looking up at Chloe, who is staring down at me with confusion and sadness in her eyes.

"What does he mean by 'bad things'?" She asks quietly, stepping away from me. Unfortunately she's not quiet enough and everybody looks at us with suspicion and concern.

"It doesn't matter." I shake my head and walk back to Louis, but Chloe grabs hold of my wrist and pulls me back.

"Please don't keep secrets from me, Jordan. I thought we were twins?" Her features soften and her eyes plead with me.

"Dad. He… uh… he does bad things to me. Things he shouldn't be doing." I whisper, sounding like a child, but I can't bring myself to say the words again. I don't have to; she understands straight away and her jaw drops in shock. Her eyes brim with tears, and she's about to hug me when Harry runs over and pulls me into his arms. My tears fall relentlessly as an awkward hush floods the room.

"I'm so sorry." He rocks me in his arms and speaks to me as if we're the only ones in the room. "I never should have let you go back there. I'm so sorry. But I never thought that he actually… oh God. I'm so sorry, JJ." He carries on whispering apologies in my ear, and then I feel another arm around my waist. I don't have to look up to see who it is; I just know that it's Chloe. Harry pulls her into his embrace as well, and suddenly I'm surrounded by bodies, all patting my shoulder, or squeezing my hand, or trying to reassure me in some way. Everybody starts to pull away, and then Anne pulls me into a motherly embrace, which only makes me cry harder. Suddenly the door handle rattles, and Chloe and I both scream. Anne quietly shushes me and grabs hold of Chloe's hand, and then the voice of my nightmares floats through the door.

"C'mon Jordy; let me in. I just want to talk." His words sound harmless, but his voice is sinister and chilling.

"Go away!" Louis shouts, and we're all taken aback by the violent anger in his voice. "Just stay away from her!"

"Don't talk to me like that, boy." Dad roars. "She's my daughter; I can do whatever the fuck I want."

"I'm not your daughter!" I screech. Adrenaline runs through my body, and I run out of Anne's embrace and towards the front door. I bang my fists against it and scream "I hate you! Just go!" Louis' strong arms pull me away from the door and try to turn me around. I resist, kicking and screaming whilst he tries to calm me down; I don't know what's come over me, but I'm filled with so much anger and hatred that if I don't get rid of it soon I'm going to explode. Another bang reverberates around the room and the door starts to buckle. I realise a second too late that Dad is trying to knock the door down and I scream. The door finally collapses and as I stare into those familiar brown eyes I'm hit with sickening memories:

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><p>"<em>Why are you doing this to me?" I scream, attempting to push past Dad and leave the room.<em>

"_Because I'm your father; I can do whatever the fuck I want!" He roars and grabs my throat. He pushes me against the wall and presses his body against mine. He drains the last drops from the whisky bottle in his other hand and then he smashes it on the wall next to me._

"_Get OFF me!" I choke, struggling feebly against his grip. He just laughs and knees me in the gut. I double over in pain and he pushes me back up against the wall. His drunken breath seeps into my pores and ignites a fire of fear and fury inside me. I try once again to wrestle out of his grip but he slams me harder against the wall, hitting my head in the process. I groan in pain and his other hand starts to slide down my body. "No. No! NO!"_

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><p>"<em>Get out!" I scream at him, gesturing at the front door. I throw his bag at him and he drops to his knees.<em>

"_I'm sorry, Jordy! It won't happen again, I promise!" His eyes fill with tears and he reaches for my hand._

"_Don't touch me you pervert!" I screech at him. "Get out of my house!"_

"_I'll give up the drink, I promise! Just give me one more chance, Jordy! Please? Just give your old man one more chance!" I look at him, on his knees and begging for forgiveness, and I feel myself start to believe; __**maybe this time he **__**really**__** means it…**_

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><p>"<em>You promised!" I shriek at him as I find him in his chair, downing the last drops of a bottle of vodka. "You said you'd stop!"<em>

"_Well I lied." He yells, dropping the bottle on the floor. It shatters into a million pieces, and I feel the last remnants of my bond with my father doing exactly the same. _

"_Well you can get out then!" I scream, trying to quench the flames of fear that are burning in my eyes. "Leave!"_

"_Don't tell me what to do, you little whore." He covers the room in two strides and grabs my neck with both hands. _

"_I… I'll phone the police! This is my house!" I choke and try to wrestle out of his deathly grip. He slams me against the wall and I cry out in pain._

"_I don't give a shit if this is your house; I am your father, and you do as I say." He growls in my ear and presses his pelvis against mine. I feel fear and bile rise from my stomach and tears drip silently down my cheeks. "If you phone the police, I'll kill you. I promise." He keeps me pinned against the wall with one hand and undoes his belt with the other._

"_NO!"_

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><p>"What; aren't you pleased to see your old man?" He grins evilly and Louis instantly stands in front of me. I hear furious whispering behind me, and I turn slightly; Liam is crouched out of Dad's sight and is phoning the police.<p>

"Just leave, _old man._" Louis sneers, only angering my Dad further. Louis steps forward, and Harry and Zayn stand at his sides. "You're not touching her."

"That's where I think you're mistaken, _little boy._" He grins manically and pulls a handgun out of his back pocket. I hold back a scream, but when Dad points it at Louis I can't hold it back any longer.

"Stop it, Dad!" I run forwards, pushing all of the boys out of the way. Louis tries to grab me but I dance out of his way. He steps forward again but Dad points the gun at me.

"Step forward and I shoot." He says in a monotone voice and I flinch. Louis steps back but stands alert.

"What's this about, Dad?" I ask softly, trying to calm him down. He glares at me for a while, and then his eyes cloud with despair and longing.

"Why couldn't you just listen?" He whispers creepily. "Listen, like your mother did?"

"Is that what this is? You lost her, so I'm her replacement? That's sick!" I cry, and he flinches at my anger. The hand holding the gun shakes and I tense.

"Yes. No. I don't know." He waves the gun as he talks and I try to keep a lid on my emotions. "Why didn't you just do as you were told? And now I have to keep my promise!"

"What promise?" I cry, tears blurring my vision. _Why has it come to this? _

"I promised that I would kill you if you went to the police." He says calmly and I hear quiet sounds of sobbing behind me.

"Then do it!" I shout, surprised at the calm that washes over me. "Just don't hurt anybody else! Please!"

"I can't promise that." He grimaces as if none of this is his fault and then aims the gun behind me. I don't have time to react; I hear deafening bangs, screams of pain, and then the room erupts into chaos. I scream, too terrified to turn around and see who was shot, and Dad focusses the gun on me.

"You're insane!" I scream through my tears. He laughs without humour and tears drip down his cheeks.

"Probably! But this way you, your mum and I can be together again!" I hear the screech of tires from outside and I almost collapse in relief. Dad glances behind him in panic, and when he turns back around his eyes are filled with new desperation. "It's over, Jordy."

"Put the gun down, sir!" I hear a shout from behind Dad. He turns and aims the gun at the figures in the dark, illuminated by the blue lights. He doesn't say anything and the tension is unbearable. "Just do it, sir, and it'll all be over." The voice remains calm, and I feel like shouting _"DO SOMETHING!" _Dad still says nothing, and suddenly he shoots recklessly at the silhouettes. I hear more gunshots, louder and more powerful, and then I'm thrown to the floor. I don't turn to look at who saved me; all I can do is watch helplessly as my father is gunned down. The bullets cut his body to ribbons and he falls to the floor. I watch as he takes a last, jagged breath, and then the light leaves his eyes. I feel trapped, and I sit and watch as lifeless blood pools around him. Someone tries to tug me away and I don't realise I'm crying until a voice whispers soothing things into my ear. All of a sudden it's like I'm encased in a bubble and it bursts; suddenly I'm hit by the sounds of wailing sirens and shrieking screams, and it takes me a while to register that those screams are mine. Tears pour down my cheeks as I crawl over to where my Dad lies motionless on the ground, and then I pull his lifeless corpse into my arms.

"No matter what he did he was my Dad and I never wanted him to die!" I sob hysterically as my tears mix with his blood. _It's over, Jordy. _His last words echo in my mind and it's the last thing I hear before I'm engulfed in darkness.

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><p><em><strong>:O The drama, the drama! JJ's Dad is dead! Who pushed JJ to the ground so she didn't get hurt? And who was shot? Well, you'll have to wait and see! XD Please review and tell me what you think! (: xXx<strong>_


	16. The Aftermath

_**Hiya! Thank you so much for your reviews, and I really hope you like this chapter! I've been debating over what to do since I wrote the last chapter, and it all kinda depended on how evil I was willing to be XD this is a bit shorter than most of the other's, but the content is just as important, and reviews are still necessary ;D Enjoy! xXx**_

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><p><span>The Aftermath<span>

**[JJ's POV]**

The blackout only lasts seconds; I'm jolted back into consciousness by a firm hand slapping me across the face. My eyes open slightly and it takes me a few seconds to realise what I'm seeing; Louis' face is right in front of mine, his eyes full of overwhelming concern. Lou drags me across the floor, away from my Dad's lifeless corpse, and I reach out and pull him into a hug; _he's okay! _He squeezes me tightly and then sobs quietly on my shoulder, and a sudden thought smacks me in the face; _somebody was shot! No…. more than one person was shot! _Louis pulls away from me and takes my cheeks in his hands. I realise that they're covered in blood and I resist the temptation to pull away.

"I love you." He says with desperation and fear in his voice. "And I'll never let anyone hurt you again, I promise."

"It was you? You pushed me out of the way?" He nods and I lean forwards and capture his lips in a passionate kiss. I feel moisture on my cheeks and when I pull away I realise that we're both crying.

"But… Oh God…" He stands up and pulls me with him, and then holds my cheeks in his hands again. This time the fear and pain in his eyes distracts me fom the thinking about who's blood it is that's on his hands... _well, almost distracts me..._

"You have to promise not to scream, okay? Everything's going to be okay." He whispers furiously and I tense up in fear. I nod tightly and then he lets go of my face, grips my hand, and then tells me to turn around. I hesitate for a split second and then do as I'm told, and when I do I'm overwhelmed by the scene before me. _Blood._ All I can see is blood. I finally let in the noises that I've been blocking out; now all I can hear is crying and screams of pain. I can see two crowds of people and two pools of blood on the floor. I walk numbly towards the closest huddle, pulling Louis with me, and when I see who it is I sob heavily. I let go of Louis' hand and push past everyone and then I drop to my knees and cover my mouth with my hands.

"Harry?" I sob and he looks up at me. He pulls himself up into a sitting position, despite everyone telling him to stay on the floor, and grabs hold of my hand with his left one.

"JJ? You're okay!" He smiles with relief and tightens his grip on my hand.

"Yeah but you're not! What happened?" I let go of his hand and stroke his cheek lightly, and Louis kneels down next to us.

"He saved my life." Louis whispers in awe as he grabs hold of Harry's hand.

"Couldn't let my best mate get hurt, could I?" Harry laughs softly and squeezes Louis' hand, and then he winces in pain.

"Where are you hurt?" I ask him. He points to his right, where Anne is pressing a tea towel against his arm. _How did I not notice that...?_

"The bullet caught the edge of my arm and cut pretty deep, but it could be so much worse. If it had hit Louis…" He pauses and looks into my eyes. "It would have hit him right in the chest, JJ. I couldn't… I couldn't let that happen. I…"

"Shhh, it's okay. It's over." I stroke his cheek reassuringly and then a paramedic comes over.

"Okay everyone, can you give us a little bit of space please?" She says firmly. I kiss Harry on the cheek and then let Louis pull me to my feet. Niall runs up to us with tears streaming down his face and the sinking feeling in my stomach gets worse.

"Chloe?" I whisper in horror. There's a brief pause and then Niall shakes his head.

"No. It's Liam." He whispers, and I sob heavily. "Your Dad aimed for Chloe but she moved a split second before and it hit Liam instead. It hit him… Oh God, Jordan. It hit him in the stomach." All rational thoughts escape me; I run towards the group of people who are surrounding Liam and push my way through. The sight that greats me sickens me, and I nearly faint at the sight of all the blood. Louis instantly places his hands on my waist and I freeze, unable to step forwards. Then Liam cries out in pain and I snap out of my delirium; I pull away from Louis and drop to the floor. I glance at Chloe who is sat on the other side of Liam, pale faced and crying. I shoot her a reassuring look but she ignores me, and I know exactly what she's thinking; _she blames herself. _The sound of sobbing distracts me and I look down; Zayn is holding Liam's hand and shaking with uncontrollable sobs, and I put my arm around his shoulders. He leans into me, still gripping Liam's hand, and cries heavily on my shoulder. I soothe him quietly, barely able to control my own sobs, and watch numbly as the paramedics try to stem the blood that's flowing profusely out of a small hole in Liam's stomach. One of the paramedics presses something against the wound, but before he does I catch sight of things that should not be visible to the naked eye and nearly vomit. Liam tries his best to keep still, but the colour slowly drains from his cheeks and he cries out in pain. Then his eyes close and the tension dissipates from his body.

"Liam?" Zayn squeezes Liam's hand but doesn't get a response and Chloe sobs loudly. "Liam? What's happening?"

"He's unconscious, son." The paramedic says calmly. "But he's losing a lot of blood and we need to get him out of here now, so you need to let go of him." Zayn nods and squeezes Liam's hand once before letting it drop. Then he wraps both arms around my waist and sobs again, and it's then that I realise; _he loves Liam too! _I start to wonder what's been going on behind closed doors, but now is really not the time for that. Niall comes over and wraps his arms around Chloe who's been crying quietly the whole time. She turns into his arms and cries louder, and he pulls her to her feet and then leads her outside. I stand up and pull Zayn with me and then we stand hand in hand and watch as they carefully lift Liam onto a stretcher and wheel him out to the ambulance. During this Liam wakes up and cries out in agony.

"Zayn?" He whispers weakly. Zayn pulls away fom me and runs over to the bed.

"Yeah, Liam?" He whispers back as they load Liam into the ambulance. The paramedics tell Zayn to stay out of the way but Liam screams out in pain again.

"Don't leave me!" He cries, reaching for Zayn, and my eyes fill with tears.

"I won't, I promise." Zayn doesn't hesitate; he climbs into the ambulance and sits down opposite Liam. Liam slips into unconsciousness again and Zayn grips his hands tightly. Then they close the doors and drive away and I'm left on my own, blood stained and drenched with tears, neither of which are all my own. I feel a dull pain in my hands and legs which I've been trying to ignore, and when I look down I realise that I'm covered in lots of cuts and little shards of glass. _It's not that bad. Could be worse; I could have been caught by one of the bullets that were meant for Dad. I just can't believe it got to this!_ _Why? Why did he have a gun? Why did he want to kill me? Why… why couldn't he have been a normal Dad? And now he's dead! _I sob heavily and wipe my eyes with my blood stained hands. _I'm an orphan. I'm 18 and both my parents are dead. THIS ISN'T RIGHT! _Then I realise something; _he aimed for the two people that would upset me the most. Well, that and the fact that Louis was winding him up. _Then the seriousness of tonight events washes over me and I run for the bathroom; I make it just in time and vomit noisily into the toilet. I weep in pain and grief and I vomit until my stomach is empty. I start to shake and I cry hysterically as I'm submerged in grief, pain, confusion, sorrow… emotions are thrown at me like knives and I scream. That's how Louis finds me; rocking back and forth on the floor, screaming hysterically and covered in blood, tears and vomit. He grabs some tissue and drops to floor next to me, and then he gently pulls me onto his lap and rocks me back and forth. He cleans me up and then tries to soothe me as I cry for all the bad things that have happened recently. I think to myself for the thousandth time; _I wish my life was boring and simple._ My body is wracked with sobs as I think about all the bad things that have happened to me and the ones I love. _WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS? _I cry until I have no tears left, and then I take a deep breath and promise myself that I'm not going to cry again. I slowly get up off of Louis' lap and rinse my mouth out with some mouthwash, washing away the taste of vomit and grief. When I'm done I climb back down into his lap and wrap my arms around his neck.

"Are you okay now?" He whispers, wiping the last of my tears away. I nod slightly, and he wipes his own tears away and places his hands on my waist. "I'm so sorry, Jordan. I… I wish none of this had happened…"

"I know." I nod again and he rests his forehead against mine. "But it did, and now we have to deal with it. C'mon." I kiss his lips lightly and it's like a fire is ignited under my skin; I part my lips and he slips his tongue inside my mouth. We kiss like that for a while, tongues clashing in passion and desperation, and then we pull away simultaneously.

"We need to go." He says softly and I nod. I jump up and pull him with me, and then I take a deep breath and prepare myself for the sight that awaits me in the next room. Lou's thoughts are in tune with mine and he gathers me up in his arms.

"You don't have to look." He whispers and I bury my head in his chest, grateful for his thoughtfulness. "I'll carry you out to the car, okay?" I melt in the warmth of his embrace and he whispers soothing things as he carries me through the bungalow, all of its good memories now tainted with tonight's events. I shiver when he steps outside, the cool air brushing across my skin and causing my hairs to rise. He wraps his arms tighter around me and jogs towards the car, and then sets me down lightly and unlocks the doors. He opens the passenger door and I slide inside, and as he closes the door and jogs around to the driver's side I reached behind me and grab one of his hoodies. He slides into the car and I pull the hoodie over my head and stare numbly out of the window.

"They're going to be okay, Jordan." He whispers softly and I try my hardest to believe him...

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><p><em><strong>Well, there you go! Harry saved Louis' life, Louis saved JJ, and Liam got shot because Chloe moved (but it's not her fault...)! :O I'll let you into a secret; it was going to be Chloe that got shot in the stomach-area, and then she wouldn't be able to have kids anymore, but I decided I've done enough bad things to her :L please review and tell me what you think, and what you think should happen next regarding Liam and Harry's recovery, and the whole LiamZayn issue. LOVE YOU GUYS! xXx**_


	17. I Really Hate Hospitals…

_**Thanks so much for your reviews! They really make me happy :) I've got a lot on at school at the moment (stupid exams and lots of boring coursework :L) so it's taking longer to update, but I will update as often as I can! :) enjoy! Xx**_

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><p><span>I Really Hate Hospitals…<span>

"I got here as soon as I could!" A familiar voice pulls me from my restless slumber but I decide I'm too comfortable to move, so instead I keep my eyes closed and just listen to the conversation.

"Keep your voice down, Gemma." Louis whispers. I'm lying across two seats (_luckily they're the ones without arm-rests, otherwise I would be __really__ uncomfortable right now!) _with my head in his lap, and he runs his hands through my messy blonde curls. _"_Jordan's still asleep."

"Sorry." Gemma says quieter. "What happened?" I hear footsteps and then a soft sound as she settles herself into a chair. We're in the waiting room at Leighton Hospital, which is exactly where we've been since we got here at about 1am this morning.

"I'll tell you in a minute." He says, and I hear her sigh in exasperation. "Do you know what's been going on with Jordan and her dad?" He asks her quietly and there's a silence.

"What do you mean?" I hear her ask quietly, and I feel Louis shift uncomfortably underneath me.

"Just… has she said anything? Have you noticed anything strange?"

"Erm… Well, we used to go to the gym on Fridays… You may not believe me," she adds when Louis laughs lightly. "But it was a stupid New Year's resolution that we made and she forced me to keep. Anyway… when we were getting changed I would notice bruises on her back and stomach, and other places that would normally be hidden. I asked her about them a few times, but she'd always come up with some excuse like "I fell out of bed" or "I got in a fight and I don't wanna talk about it". Are you saying that was her dad?" She gasps lightly and Louis absentmindedly strokes my cheek softly.

"Did you ever notice anything while you were at her house?" He asks, purposely ignoring her question. I know that he's deflecting her questions so that I can tell her myself, and I have a feeling that he knows I'm awake by now.

"No. She would only ever let me go round when her dad was out, which wasn't that often. Her dad hasn't got a job." I can't help but notice that she's using the present tense, which means that she doesn't know that he's… _dead. _"After a while the bruises disappeared, but that's when I noticed the cuts. I asked her about them, but she point-blank refused to talk about it, which was weird 'cos she usually tells me everything. I got worried, so I tried to talk to Chloe. She said that Jordan wouldn't talk to her either which was really worrying, 'cos of the "Twin" thing." I almost smile at the fondness in her voice, and then I remember that I'm supposed to be asleep so I try not to. "What's going on, Louis?"

"You'll have to ask Jordan." He says cryptically and I hear Gemma sigh in frustration. "I'm sorry, Gem."

"S'okay. I understand." She says tightly and I start to feel bad. I shift restlessly and then "wake up".

"Lou?" I say instantly, trying to make my voice thick with sleep.

"Hey there." He says quietly and helps me to sit up. I spot Gemma sat on a chair opposite us, shrouded in her usual attire of dark clothes and black makeup, and I run over and jump on her lap.

"Gem!" I cry, and she wraps her arms around me and laughs.

"Hi." She squeezes me tight and then gently pushes me off of her and onto her seat next to her.

"I'm so glad you're here." I smile with tears in my eyes as I grab hold of her hand. I haven't really seen her much recently; we've met up a couple of times in the Costa near Harry's mum's house (_ahh, memories…) _to chat but that's about it. I've been spending most of my time with the boys, and it's still too awkward between her and Zayn for her to hang around with all of us. _I really need to help them sort that out. It's probably my fault somehow. _I sigh in self-pity and then metaphorically slap myself. _Grow up, Jordan. Not everything is about you._

"Well, my best friend needs me." She smiles and squeezes my hand. "Now tell me; what's going on?" I sigh heavily and then let go of her hands. _I need to get used to telling this story anyway. May as well start now. _I start to tell her everything that's been happening with my dad, starting right back from when he moved in after Mum's funeral. Louis doesn't know most of this so he listens just as attentively. I skim over the details of what my "dad" actually did but they both get the gist of it. Gemma gasps softly and grabs my hand, covering her mouth with her hand so that she doesn't interrupt me. Louis goes rigid with anger when he learns the full extent of what Dad did, but he refuses to say anything, or even look me in the eyes. I carry on telling Gemma everything that's happened, and when I get to what happened at Seth's funeral Louis finally looks me in the eyes. His usually cheerful orbs of blue are filled with anger and despair, and he comes over and takes my right hand in his. Gemma grips my left hand tightly and I finish with what happened last night.

"Oh babe." She says after a while, tears dripping down her cheeks. She wraps her free arm around my waist, and Louis does the same. They both lean their heads on my shoulders and no words are necessary; their presence alone is comforting enough and I take a deep breath, refusing to let any more tears fall. We sit in silence for a while, all drinking in the seriousness of the situation, and then Louis abruptly drops my hand and stands up.

"I'm gonna go and ask what's going on, okay?" He says, leaning down and kissing my cheek. I check my watch; 8am.

"We've been here for 7 hours and nobody has told us anything?" I ask, trying not to get angry.

"I fell asleep earlier, so maybe they came to talk to us then and left us alone? Anne and Robin are in with Harry; they would come and get us if something had happened to him." He smiles reassuringly, but painful words hang unspoken between us; _what about Liam? Why hasn't anyone told us anything? _He leaves before I can say anything else and I stare after him, trying desperately to convince myself that everything is going to be okay. Gemma gently grasps hold of my chin and moves my head so that I'm facing her. She wipes away a few tears that escaped from my eyes and grasps both of my hands in hers.

"How's Zayn?" She asks quietly. I'm about to answer when a soft voice comes from behind Gemma.

"Why don't you ask me yourself, Gem?" Gemma's eyes flash with shock and she drops my hands. She takes a deep breath before slowly turning to face him. I look up and see that his eyes are red and puffy and tinged with sadness.

"Hi, Zayn." She doesn't sound angry; just resigned. He sits next to her and takes her hands in his, and I see that as my cue to leave.

"I… uh…. I need some fresh air. I'll be back in a bit." Gemma glares at me and I hold back a laugh. Zayn tells me not to go too far and to keep my phone on me, and I agree. Then I kiss them both on the cheek, grab my hand bag (_thank God I made Louis go back and get it; I'd be lost without it!_) and swiftly walk away, leaving them to talk. I hurry through the white corridors, desperate to be out of this dreary and depressing place. _I hate hospitals. I remember the last time I was here. Liam was hurt that time, too._ _He's lost a lot of blood… what if that affects his kidney and that leads to kidney failure? Oh God… _I block those thoughts from my mind and run the last couple of meters until I'm outside. I shiver as the early morning air brushes over my bare arms. I'm still wearing my outfit from last night; red skinny jeans, black boots and a white All Time Low tee. I did have Louis' black The Fray jacket but I left it inside. I feel myself start to lose control and I get my phone out and phone the one person I need right now; the person that's always there when I need them and is always willing to be my escape route.  
><strong><br>"Hello?"**

"Beth? I really need you."

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><p>"Why didn't you tell me, you stupid girl? Or at least tell <span>somebody<span>?" Beth shakes her head. We're sat on a bench in the hospital car park and she has her arm around me. She hurried straight over here after I phoned her, and I've just finished telling her everything. I desperately try not to cry but I can feel my control slipping, and when she scolds me I lose it; tears tumble rapidly down my cheeks and I frantically try to wipe them away.

"I'm sorry, Beth." I whisper miserably and she shakes her head.

"Don't apologise, Jordan. I just can't believe that you've gone through this kind of shit since you were little and you never told anyone!" She pulls away from me and pierces me with her icy blues.

"I did tell someone! Well, Harry found out when we were kids, but he thought Dad had stopped when he got out of prison…." I mumble pathetically. Even I know that I've been stupid. I sigh which ends up sounding like a sob and Beth squeezes my hand. "Maybe if I'd have told someone, none of this would have happened."

"I don't know, Jordan." She sighs, not bothering to mollycoddle me. That's why I need her at a time like this; she not an "aw, it'll all be okay don't worry" kind of person. I'm not saying she's a bitch, I'm just saying that she's the type of person that I need; she doesn't take my crap like other people do, and she gives me the honesty that I need. "How's Liam? And Harry?" I notice that she sounds a little more worried about Harry, but that's understandable; she's known Harry since we were all little kids, whereas she doesn't really know Liam that well.

"Harry's fine; as long as the wound doesn't get infected or start bleeding again then he'll be able to go home later. It's more of a gash than a bullet wound, to be honest, because the bullet didn't actually go in his arm." I recite, having read the text that Louis sent me nearly twenty times now, trying to convince myself that everything's okay. Beth sighs with relief and runs her hand through her pale blonde hair. "As for Liam… I don't know. I really should go and find out but I don't know if I can face going in there. What if he dies, Beth? It'll be my fault!" My voice gets higher and higher as I finally acknowledge the thoughts that have been whirring around inside my head.

"Hey, hey. Calm down." Beth wraps her arms around me and pulls me into a hug. "Don't think like that, JJ." She calls me by the nickname that Harry came up with when we were kids, and I realise that she's the only other person that's ever called me that. _Apart from Mum. _After a while I eventually calm down and pull out of her arms.

"Shall we go inside then?" She asks softly and when I nod she gets to her feet and pulls me with her. Then she gets some tissues out of her My Chemical Romance bag, hands them to me and says: "I came prepared." I chuckle lightly and she smiles. Then my phone buzzes and I pull it out of my pocket: **Where have you gone? Come back soon? Lou xx**

"It's Louis. He's worried about me." I smile fondly and Beth laughs. "What?"

"Oh, he's worried about me!" She flutters her hand and bats her eyelashes in a bad impression of me.

"Shut up!" I laugh properly for the first time in ages, and then I feel like a bitch for laughing when all of this is happening.

"It's okay to laugh, you know." Beth smiles sadly, noticing the sudden change in my expression. "You just need to forget and move on."

"Yeah." I sigh. _Forget and move on. That's easier said than done..._

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><p><em><strong>Well, what do you think? Just a bit of a filler chapter really, but still important none-the-less :) What do you think should happen next? And what do you <strong>__**want**__** to happen next? Please review and tell me! Love you guys xXx**_


	18. Closer to the Edge

_**Hello there! Thank you so much for your reviews and favourites/subscriptions :3 your response has been amazing, and it's really nice to read those nice comments, and to see what you guys think should/shouldn't happen :) it's taken me longer to write this one because I was really stuck on what to do, but I've made a decision (obviously, 'cause you're reading this :L) so enjoy, and please review and tell me what you think :3**_

_**p.s: big shoutout to 1DStyle, the awesome, Liam-loving girl who has given me a lot of ideas and help with this story (thanks!) (: so you guys REALLY should check out her amazayn one shot "Our Time" and her other story "We Met Under An Umbrella" and tell her how awesome they are :) thanks dudes! :3 xxx**_

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><p><span>Closer to the Edge<span>

***Later on that day***

I grip Beth's hand tightly, drawing strength from her presence, and slowly walk into Harry's room. It's a private room, obviously. _Liam would have one too, but he's in the Intensive Care Unit at the moment. Which is your fault. SHUT UP!_

1D's manager called me and told me that somehow the fans have found out what has happened and are going insane. _I have no idea how they found out. I don't really care right now, to be honest._ Some of the fans have been going crazy, trying to get into the hospital and find out where Harry and Liam are, but most them have been really sweet by sending us all nice messages on Twitter, and telling us that they're going to send cards and messages to the fan mail address. I understand how they feel; they're fans, and the boys mean a lot to them. I know that when this has all calmed down a bit we're going to have to tell the fans what happened, or give them an official story, but I don't want to think about it now. _It's not the most important thing right now. _

Louis is stood leaning over Harry, fussing over him, and Harry laughs before pushing him away with his good arm. Then he catches sight of me and his smile gets even brighter.

"JJ? Come here!" He holds out his arm and beckons me over. Beth gives me a little nudge and I run over, dropping her hand in the process. I know I've only been "missing" for a few hours, but I really missed him. _And Louis…_

"Harry!" I cry as I wrap my arms around his neck. Harry wraps his good arm around my waist and pulls me into him, burying his head in my shoulder and sighing with relief. _Was he worried about __me? __What; did they think I was going to kill myself or something? _Harry lifts his head slightly and looks over my shoulder, and then he gasps lightly.

"Beth?" He says quietly, and I realise that he probably hasn't seen her since the end of secondary school, which was just over two years ago. In school, the four of us were inseparable; Beth, Harry, Chloe and I. We were the popular kids, but the nice ones that are just friends with everybody. We spent as much time as we could together from the age of 4 until we left secondary school. _I miss those days; everything was so simple._

"Hi Harry." I can hear the relief in her voice, and when I turn around she's smiling brightly with tears in her eyes. I kiss Harry on the cheek and then pull away from him, and then Louis pulls me into his lap and wraps his arms around my waist from behind.

"I haven't seen you in ages! Come here!" Harry holds out his arm and Beth hesitates slightly before walking over to the bed and sitting on the edge of it. Harry frowns and says: "I haven't got a disease, you know. Give me a hug!" Beth chuckles lightly and then leans in and wraps her arms around him, careful not to hurt his arm.

"You're okay!" She whispers, hugging him tighter. "I was so worried."

"I'm okay, Beth. Don't worry." He kisses her on the cheek and she sobs lightly. He smiles fondly and keeps his arm wrapped around her whilst she tries not to cry. _I'm such an idiot! _I curse. _I only thought about myself; I didn't think about the fact the Harry was Beth's best friend too! I dumped all of this shit on her and didn't think about the fact that she'd be worried too. I'm such a bitch! _Louis rests his head on my shoulder and traces light, soothing patterns on my arm. Beth pulls away from Harry and wipes her eyes, and then he takes her hand in his and smiles at her.

"I'm gonna go and find Gemma and Zayn." I say abruptly, jumping up off of Lou. I turn and mouth at him _we should leave them to catch-up _and he nods.

"I'll go with you." He says, standing up next to me. Beth turns and looks at me, gratitude weighing heavily on her smile, and I give her a quick hug before turning to leave.

"Uh, what about me?" Harry pouts, and I turn and kiss him on the cheek. He grabs my chin with his hand and forces me to look into his deep depths of green. "It's not your fault. Stop beating yourself up about it." I shake my head and pull away from him, and then I run out of the room. I stop after a while, breathing heavily and unsure where to go, and then I feel strong arms wrap around my waist. I feel a warm body press against mine, and then I feel a soft breath in my ear. I pull away from him and turn to face him, and before I can say anything he takes one of my hands in both of his and presses them to his chest. I can feel his heart beat under my hand and it's calming.

"You're not gonna start dancing now are you?" I ask, and he looks at me, his features setting into a mask of confusion before he realises what I'm talking about it. He bursts out laughing, and I can't help laughing with him.

"So you're saying I'm as fit as Patrick Swayze, then?" He laughs and I don't answer. He pulls me close to him, places my arms around his neck and then wraps his arms around my waist. He sways us back and forth, and as he rests his forehead against mine he whispers "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

"You're so cheesy!" I laugh, but I pull him closer to me and kiss him. We stay there, encased in our own little bubble, until something comes along and bursts it.

"Louis! Jordan!" Zayn runs up to us with tears streaming down his face, and our little bubble of serenity is shattered.

"Zayn?" I step away from Louis and run towards Zayn. I pull him into my arms and he cries heavily. "What is it?"

"H… hi… Lia… I…" He tries to speak but can't, his voice overridden with shock and pain. I freeze, unsure what to do, and Louis gently pushes me out of the way. He grabs hold of Zayn's cheeks and looks right into Zayn's eyes.

"Zayn, mate; you gotta calm down. You're gonna make yourself sick, and you can't tell us what's going on if you can't even breathe. Calm. Down. Look, breathe with me, okay?" Lou places his hands on Zayn's shoulders and starts breathing slowly. Zayn tries to copy Lou, and eventually he calms down. "Better?"

"Yeah… thanks." Zayn hiccups. Then his eyes cloud over and I can tell that he's about to cry again. "It's Liam… His kidney has failed and… and his wound keeps bleeding and… and they said that he's probably not gonna make it!" His words sound muffled; it's like I'm encased in a bubble again, but this the time the bubble's not for serenity. I drop to the floor, my legs too weak to hold me up, and tears slide down my cheeks. _He's going to die. And it's my fault. My best friend's going to die and it's my fault. _I don't realise I'm screaming until Lou drops to the floor next to me and tells me to stop screaming. A girl comes out and starts speaking but I don't hear what she's saying; all I can see in my head is Liam lying on the floor, covered in blood all because of me and my problems with my Dad. I cry and scream, scream and cry, ignoring everything else except that image, sticking in my head, taking over, killing me with reality until…

"JORDAN!" Louis shouts right in my face and silence descends on the corridor. My eyes lift from the floor and Louis is sat right in front of me, his eyes filled with shock, horror, pain and grief. The girl is kneeling next to me, checking my pulse in my wrist, and they're both wrapping a blanket around me. Zayn is gone. _How long have I been like this? _I ask myself.

"Okay; her pulse is slowing down and she's stopped shivering. Just keep her talking and I'll go and get her some water, okay?" The girl addresses Louis who nods tightly. She gets up and walks away and Lou stares at me like I'm a bomb just waiting to explode. He reaches out slowly; keeping his blue eyes locked on mine, and cups my cheek in his hand. I lean into his touch and something snaps inside him; he grabs me and pulls me into his lap and I cry heavily on his shoulder. The girl comes back and hands me a glass of water, and then she kneels down in front of us and checks my pulse again. She smiles to herself and I take the time to look at her properly; she's about my age with warm brown eyes and dark brown hair that's pulled back into a ponytail. She notices me looking at her and smiles. "What's your name?"

"Jordan." I croak, voice hoarse from screaming. "You?"

"Ashlyn. But everyone calls me Ash." She smiles fully and I notice that her teeth are slightly crooked but very white. She nods towards Louis and says "What's your name?"

"Louis." He says, completely focussed on me, and a strange look crosses Ash's features.

"Do I know you?" She asks, and Louis looks up at her for the first time since she got back.

"Uh, I'm Louis Tomlinson, from One Direction." He says quietly and holds out his hand. She shakes it and beams at him.

"That's where I know you from!" She says, and then her smile falters. "You're here because of Liam Payne and Harry Styles, aren't you? I'm a nurse here so I know that they're here." I can see that she's desperate to ask what happened to them but she doesn't out of politeness.

"Yeah." I say heavily and I start to shake again. Lou's hands instantly jump to my face and he tries to stop me from going crazy again. Ash places her hand on mine and starts to speak but her pager interrupts us.

"Shit." She says, and then blushes. Then she properly looks at the pager and her face goes deathly white. "Oh no. You guys need to come with me now; it's Liam." A torrent of tears instantly stream down my face and Ash jumps up, pulling me with her. She runs down the corridor and I follow her, Louis following close behind. We run down endless corridors, closer and closer to Liam just as he runs closer and closer to his fate. She stops in a room and tells us to wait outside, and then she comes out two minutes later in her nurse's uniform and sets off again. She stops outside of ICU and turns to face us.

"You can come in, but you have to stay away from the bed and out of the way, okay?" She says to us, her features settling into a mask of cold professionalism, and we both nod. Then she hurries into the room and leads us to Liam. I can't go any further, and I glance around to see who's here; Harry is stood with his arm around Anne, Robin is stood next to them trying to sooth Liam's mum and sisters who are in hysterics, and Niall's stood at the back of the room with Chloe, both of them crying silently. Then there's Zayn. He's stood next to Liam's bed, gripping his hand with all of his strength and refusing to move. The nurses and doctors bustle around him, trying to stem the blood that's flowing profusely from Liam's wound. Louis kisses my cheek and then runs forward, but then he stops. Niall rushes past him and grabs hold of Zayn's shoulders and tries to pull him away.

"No! I'm not leaving him!" Zayn says tightly and everyone's slightly taken aback by the venom in his voice, except for Niall. I walk up to Lou and grab his hand, and we watch as Niall tries to persuade Zayn to move.

"C'mon, mate; let the doctors do their jobs, okay?" Louis says as Niall tries again to pull Zayn away.

"But I promised I wouldn't leave him!" Zayn cries and holds his ground as the beeps of the heart monitor that our best friend is strapped to get slower and slower.

"You're not leaving him, Zayn! You'll still be here, okay? We won't make you leave." Niall says reassuringly. He wraps his arm around Zayn's waist and tries unsuccessfully to pull him away. My tears flow steadily as I watch the scene before me, and it's heart-breaking to watch. Harry steps forward and tries to talk but Zayn cuts him off.

"But I can't let him go, Niall! I can't because I love him!" Everybody sucks in a shocked breath, but what shocks me more is Niall's next sentence.

"I know, Zayn, and he loves you too, but you have to let the doctors do their jobs! Come on!" Zayn collapses into Niall's arms and Niall pulls him over to us. Niall, Lou, Harry and I pull him into an embrace and watch as our friend slowly slips away. Then the beeps on the heart monitor stop altogether.

"No!" Zayn and I scream in unison. Harry and Louis start crying and Liam's mum screams. Chloe runs over to me and pulls me out of Lou's arms. I wrap my arms around her waist and we both cry as we watch the nurses and doctors trying to revive him.

"No, Liam! Please!" I sob. I jump as they shock him with the paddles once, twice, three times. _Nothing._

"I think we should leave it." One of the nurses says. _Ash._ Zayn cries out and Lou pulls him into a hug, rubbing his back reassuringly but lost for words. All of the doctors and nurses nod, and one of the doctors grimaces. "Time of death…" His sentence is interrupted by a small sound; _the beeping of a heart monitor._


	19. Everything Happens For a Reason

_**Hello there! :D Two in one day? I must really love you guys! Thanks again for your reviews etc. :3 bit of a filler chapter (ish) but enjoy!**_

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><p><span>Everything Happens For a Reason<span>

"Time of death is…" _Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep beep. Beep beep. Beep beep beep beep. __**Louder. Stronger. Faster.**_

"He's alive!" Zayn gasps. The doctors all rush around Liam, checking him over once, twice, three times…

"He's stabilising." Ash says, wonder and surprise filling her voice. Then I hear a bang on the door and I quickly turn around.

"Beth? Oh my God, Beth! Someone let her in!" Everyone ignores me and I glare at Ash until she looks up. She looks at the main doctor for a second, who nods tightly before focussing on Liam again. Ash hurries over and lets Beth in.

"What the fuck? You all disa… Harry? Why are you crying?" She instantly runs over to him and stands right in front of him. All of us look at her, unsure what to say, and her head moves back and forth between me and Harry. Then I burst out laughing at the comicalness of the situation. "What are you laughing at?" she asks, looking at me like I've just grown a second head. Everybody looks at me like I'm insane, but Lou understands why I'm laughing. _I'm kinda sleep-deprived too… that's really not helping… _He pulls me into his arms and I eventually dissolve into sobs again. I hear Harry explaining what's happened in hushed tones, and then Beth gasps quietly.

"I was in the fucking toilets!" She whispers furiously. "You all fucking disappeared and left me!" Harry just chuckles quietly and pulls her into a hug. I feel a tap on my shoulder and I step out of Lou's embrace and turn around.

"Can you all step outside for a minute, please?" Ash says to me, and I gather everyone up and shoo them outside. Zayn refuses to move again, and Chloe says to me that she'll stay inside with Zayn. She walks up to him and grips his hand in hers and he squeezes it tightly.

Ash leads us out into the corridor and closes the door behind us. She leads us to the waiting room, and as soon as we're in there Karen (Liam's mum), Ruth and Nicola (Liam's sisters) start badgering Ash with questions until she starts to get overwhelmed.

"Guys, please. Just give her chance to answer." I place my hand on Ruth's shoulder and pull her away slightly, and Nicola and Karen follow. Then the main doctor steps into the room with a clipboard in his hand and closes the door behind him.

"I'm Doctor Owens." He says politely, and when nobody says anything he goes straight to the point. "Liam is stable, and we've managed to stop the wound from bleeding. His working kidney failed, but luckily he has survived. If we administer certain medications and keep him in for a few weeks, and make sure that his wound heals properly, then he should be okay." Karen collapses into the chair, sobbing with relief, and Nicola and Ruth sit either side of her and comfort her.

"He's definitely going to be okay?" Harry asks, still hanging onto Beth.

"Like I said; if we give him the right medication, keep him in for a while, and make sure his wound heals, then he should be okay." Harry sighs with relief and I grab Lou's hand. Dr Owens looks at us with concern, and then sighs. "I have to say; Liam is extremely lucky to be alive. Firstly, the bullet missed all major organs and left a small laceration in his spleen, which is what caused the extensive bleeding. Secondly, with his history of kidney problems, acute kidney failure should have meant certain death. However, Liam has pulled through, and we think he's over the worst. It will be a long recovery, but as long as he has the right diet and keeps healthy then his kidney should make a full recovery and shouldn't fail again."

"Thank you, Doctor." Karen says softly, and he nods.

"You may go in and see him, but not all of you at once." He stands still and flicks through the papers on his clipboard, waiting for us to make a decision on who's going in.

"Go on." Lou gestures towards the door, nodding at Karen, Nicola and Ruth. I think Harry expects me to protest but I don't. _They're his family; they need to be with him more than we do. _"Try and get Zayn and Chloe to come out here, please? Chloe, at least." Lou pleads and Karen kisses him on the cheek. She grasps Nicola's hand and they walk out of the room with the doctor but Ruth hesitates. I walk up to her and take her hand in mine.

"Aren't you going, Ruth?" I ask her quietly. I get on really well with Ruth, and we're really good friends. I'd known her before 1D formed through some friends, and we got in contact again and have been talking a lot recently.

"I'm not sure… I don't think I can see him like that again, Jordan." She whispers tearfully. "I just watched my baby brother die, and now he's alive again and I just…" I shush her and pull her into a tight hug. She cries heavily on my shoulder and I rub her back reassuringly. Then she pulls away and wipes her eyes, and I gently push her outside and towards the door of the ICU.

"Don't leave me, Jordan." She says, grabbing my hand, and I don't think about me; I just lead her into the room. Zayn is sat next to Liam's bed holding his hand and whispering things to him. Karen is sat on Liam's other side doing pretty much the same thing, and Nicola is stood behind Karen with her hands on Karen's shoulders, crying quietly. Liam's eyes are closed in peaceful sleep, and I feel like crying. _He looks dead… but he's not._ Chloe is stood behind everybody, unsure of what to do, and when she sees me she smiles a little before rapidly leaving the room. Ruth's eyes lock on Liam and she sobs lightly, then she lets go of my hand and paces over to Liam's bed. She stands behind Karen and takes Nicola's hand in hers. I start to feel like I'm intruding, and I make a decision. I slowly walk up to Zayn and whisper in his ear: "we need to leave." He looks up at me to protest but I give him hard look and he falters slightly.

"But I don't want to leave." He whispers back and I take his free hand in mine.

"C'mon Zayn; we'll just go and get a drink and then you can come back, okay? Just give Liam's family some time with him, yeah?" I plead with him and he eventually gives in. He leans forward and kisses Liam's forehead, not caring who's watching, and then stands up. I pull him out of the room and straight past the waiting room. Neither of us says anything, and I gently but firmly pull him towards the closest coffee machine. I silently get us both a hot chocolate and then I sit on the floor in the corner. Zayn raises his eyebrows but doesn't hesitate in joining me and we sip at our drinks, silently rejoicing in the normality. Then I take a proper look at my surroundings and I chuckle; this is where I saw Beth, back in February. _Everything happens for a reason. _The thought is gone as soon as it appears, and I feel myself going insane; that sounded like Mum…

"Are you gonna speak, or are we just gonna sit here in silence?" Zayn asks quietly, staring intently at his foam cup.

"How long have you been in love with Liam?" I ask, getting straight to the point. _There's no doubting that they're in love._

"A few months, I think. I only realised it when he kissed me." He sniffs and takes a sip of his drink, cursing when the heat burns his tongue.

"And how long have you been together." I ask him. He looks up at me for the first time since we sat down and frowns.

"How did you know?" He asks suspiciously.

"I didn't until then." I whisper, and he realises that I tricked him.

"Damn. You're good." He smiles lightly, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "Erm… since last night." He smiles at fond memories and then frowns again.

"How long has Niall known?" I ask him. I feel kinda hurt that Niall knew before I did.

"I don't know. I didn't tell him, and I'm pretty sure Liam didn't. He told me that only you knew about his feelings, and only you, Louis and Danielle knew that he was gay." Zayn frowns again and I lean my head on his shoulder.

"What happened last night then?" I ask nonchalantly, desperate to know how they got together. He tenses up, and I look up at him. He blushes furiously and I laugh. "You didn't?" He refuses to look in my eyes and I laugh. "You did!"

"Shut up." He nudges me, careful not to spill either of our drinks, and I stare at him incredulously.

"You had sex? Really?" He blushes so crimson that I'm afraid he's stopped breathing or something, and then he puts his drink down and covers his face with his hands.

"Don't tell anyone, Jordan." He groans in defeat and I laugh.

"Aww, wow! Don't worry; I won't ask you any questions about that." I say, taking a sip of my drink, and he laughs. _Finally._

"Liam's going to be okay, you know." I smile lightly, and Zayn nods. "By the way; what happened with Gemma?" Zayn tenses up again. _Oh no._

"She… she doesn't hate me anymore." He says quietly. _Well, that's something… _"But she doesn't want to see me."

"What did you say?" I sigh.  
>"I said that I was sorry, and that I still wanted to be friends. Then she asked me how long I'd been in love with Liam…"<p>

"Tell me you didn't give her the answer you gave me…?" I ask him and he instantly looks guilty. "Oh, God. What did she say back?"

"She said that she was probably some way of me denying my feelings, told me I could stick my friendship up my arse, and then left." He sighs. "I'm such a douche…"

"Well, you said it." I shrug and he laughs again. "How are you feeling, Zayn?"

"Shit." He grimaces. "But as long as Liam's okay, I'll be okay."

"Aw." I lean on his shoulder again and we sit in silence. I run my mind over the events of the past hour and a voice rings out in my head, clear and sharp and filling me with hope; _everything happens for a reason._

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><p><em><strong>Sooo, what do you think? Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter, and what you think should happen next! :3 love you guys! xxx<strong>_


	20. Home

_**Hello 'der! :D thank you so much for your reviews/subscriptions/favourites! I'm not gonna demand that you review or anything like that, but it would be really nice if you did because I love to hear what you guys think! Even if it's to tell me that you didn't like it; explain why, and I can make it better! :) Also, if any of you are fans of the House of Night series then please read my one shot, Her Little Secret! :3 love you guys! xx**_

Home

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><p>"<em>Goodbye, my love." He says, and tears stream down my face.<em>

"_Why are you leaving me?" I whisper hoarsely, my body shaking with fear and rejection._

"_I have to. But you'll be okay without me. You don't need me." He shakes his head, tears now tumbling down his cheeks as well. I reach out to brush them away but he steps away from my touch. My body shakes even more, my brain trying to process what's going on._

"_I do need you! Please don't leave me." He kisses his fingertips and touches them to my cheek, and I close my eyes and smile. When I open them he's gone. I drop to my knees and cry: "But you promised that you'd never leave me!"_

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><p><strong>* about a month later *<strong>

My eye lids flutter open and tears drip down my cheeks. I shift uncomfortably, seeking comfort but not finding any. I sit up in bed and glance around the unfamiliar room. _Where am I?_ I ask myself. But the answer comes instantly. _Louis and Harry's flat; same place I've been for the past two weeks._ I wipe my tears away and slide out of the bed, looking around for Louis. I don't find him, but I don't see a note either, which means he's here somewhere. Then I hear a clatter in the kitchen and laugh; _he must be making breakfast_. I look down at what I'm wearing; pyjama shorts and Lou's Leeds Festival tee. After deciding that I'm decent enough to go downstairs I open the bedroom door and tread silently past Harry's room, careful not to wake him. Then I hop daintily from one step to the next, still making no noise, and make my way to the kitchen. I hear more clattering, and then the unmistakeable sound of a kettle boiling. I peek around the doorframe and smile to myself; Lou is facing away from me with a mug in his hand, watching the music channels on their kitchen T.V. I pad quietly across the floor, the cool tiles injecting cold into my bare feet, and stop just behind him. He's totally oblivious to my presence, still engrossed in the T.V, and I reach forward and place my hands on his shoulders. He gasps and drops the mug, which lands on the side and rolls off. He grabs it just in time to stop it from breaking, but that doesn't stop half a mug of boiling tea pouring over the floor. I step backwards, pulling him with me, and the boiling liquid narrowly misses our feet. He gently places the mug back down on the side and whips around to face me.

"Oops." I smirk as he glares at me angrily, and then his face breaks into a grin. He picks me up and spins me around, away from the liquid all over the floor, and I squeal.

"You're a right pain in the ass, did you know that?" He laughs, throwing me over his back. I scream and pound my fists on his back, demanding to be put down, but he just laughs and carries on walking. He grabs me by the waist and carefully drops me on the sofa and then he kneels over me, preventing me from moving.

"I'd rather that you didn't manhandle me." I glare up at him and he laughs.

"I'd rather that you didn't scare the shit out of me at 7am in the morning and cause me to throw my tea all over the floor." He smirks back and I swat him on the arm.

"Fine. Sorry." I grin up at him and he laughs again. His eyes darken and he reaches down and places lots of light kisses all over my neck and collarbone.

"I. Forgive. You." He murmurs between kisses and I moan breathlessly. He leans back and looks into my eyes, gauging my reaction, and I start to freeze up in fear. He leans down and presses his lips to mine, but it's soft and caring and I start to relax. He cups my cheek with one hand, using his other hand to prop himself up so he's not putting all of his weight on me, and deepens the kiss. Then we hear a cough and a light chuckle, and I scream. Lou loses his balance and falls on top of me and I laugh. I push him off of me but, being the dick that he is, he decides to drag me with him and we end up in a heap on the floor.

"Sorry; was I interrupting something?" Harry grins and I glare at him. I quickly disentangle myself from Lou and then run over and wrap my arms around Harry's waist.

"Oh sure; you make me throw my tea everywhere, and then throw me off of the couch, but you give him a hug?" Lou grumbles and I laugh, still keeping my arms wrapped around Harry's waist. Harry laughs in my ear and runs his hand through my hair. _I'm so glad he's okay._ Every day I think the same thing, even though he was able to go home the day after he got… hurt. _He could have __died__. _I pull away from him and smile, and then I realise that I'm the only one that's not dressed.

"Why are you both dressed? It's 7 o'clock in the morning!" I ask them, and they both look at me strangely.

"Don't you know what today is?" Harry asks and I frown. Then I remember; _Liam is being discharged from the hospital today!_

"Oh fuck! I forgot. Well, I didn't, but I didn't register that it was today!" I babble, more to myself than either of them. Then I instantly sprint away from them and towards Louis'… _our_ bedroom.

"I'll clean the mess up in the kitchen then, shall I?" Lou shouts after me and I hear Harry laugh.

"Ok." I shout back, and as I shut the bedroom door I hear him grumbling about me.

* * *

><p>The car journey to Leighton Hospital from London is long and boring. We've moved back to London so that I can get settled in before Uni, and because we knew that it was going to be a least 3-4 weeks before Liam would be discharged. We visited him at least twice a week though, and after he'd woken up we spoke with him on the phone nearly every day. Niall and Chloe have moved back to their flat in London too, but Zayn refused to. He's been staying in the bungalow alone, despite the bad memories that it now holds, and visiting Liam every day. It was weird; it hasn't taken any time at all for the rest of the boys to adjust to Zayn and Liam's relationship. In fact, it's quite the opposite; Harry, Lou and Niall are all happy for Zayn and Liam, as long as it doesn't get in the way of the band. Liam spent a week in ICU, drifting in and out of consciousness, sleeping off his injury, and on the 7th day he woke up properly. He was almost back to his normal, happy, healthy self again, and the first thing he wanted to do was to talk to us all...<p>

* * *

><p><em>I paced the room, my steps almost burning a path in the floor. Lou grabbed me by the waist and gently pulled me into his lap, telling me to "just sit and relax for a while." He knew what the problem was though; Liam had woken up nearly 40 minutes before, and they still wouldn't let us in. Karen, Ruth, Nicola and Zayn were in there, but that was it. Harry, Niall, Beth, Chloe, Lou and I were sat outside of Liam's room (which he'd been moved to after he was well enough to leave ICU) waiting impatiently for someone to let us go in. Harry was sat in a chair, talking in furious whispers to Beth who was sat next to him. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and I stared; that was the first time I'd seen her with her hair up in… well, in a very long time. Niall was stood against the wall with Chloe snuggled in his arms and he was whispering things to her. I could see a tear slide down her cheek, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. I knew how she felt; we all did. We thought that Liam wasn't going to wake up. The doctors had gotten increasingly worried when he hadn't responded to the treatment, and then suddenly he was awake. We didn't understand it, but we were starting to see that Liam was just one miracle after another. Chloe still blamed herself, no matter how many times we told her not to. Add that to Seth's death and you get an increasing pile of "blame Chloe." She was falling apart inside, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. The door opened, interrupting my inner monologue. Karen, Ruth and Nicola walked out of the room with identical smiles of hope on their faces and I smiled back.<em>

"_He wants to see you all." Karen smiles at us. "We're going to go home and come back later, okay?" She hugged me tightly and then left, her two daughters following her. Then Lou grabbed my hand and pulled me into the room before I could hesitate. I was met by a pair of warm brown eyes that I hadn't seen for a while and I instantly dissolved into tears. I ran towards Liam and then stopped, unsure whether he was too fragile to be hugged. He was sat up against the headboard, gripping Zayn's hand and talking to him quietly, but when I ran towards him he turned and smiled at me._

"_Come here, you moron." He laughed softly and I sobbed. He held out his arms and gestured for me to climb into them. I closed the distance between us; I sat next to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, losing myself in his embrace. I cried quietly as he rubbed my back and I babbled lots of stupid things, most of which __I__ couldn't even understand._

"_It's okay." He repeated over and over again as I cried. Then I pulled away and kissed his lips lightly, in a purely platonic way. He smiled lightly, his eyes full of tears, and I backed away so that other people could talk to him too. Lou was next; tears trickled down his cheeks as he embraced his friend. Then he pulled away and kissed Liam lightly on the cheek. Lou walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me, crying silently. Harry and Niall both embraced Liam and said hello to him, and Beth waved shyly from her position at the back of the room. Harry went over and stood next to her as Liam waved back at her. Liam turned to Chloe but she was hiding her face in her hands, unable to even look at him. He abruptly pushed the thin hospital cover back and swung his legs off of the bed, groaning in pain. Everybody fussed over him, trying to push him back into bed, but he refused stubbornly. _

"_Chloe, come here." He said firmly, sitting on the edge of the bed. She shook her head and he sighed in frustration. He tried to stand up, but that was where we drew the line; Niall placed both hands on Liam's shoulder and told him to stay put. Liam agreed straight away; the pain was evident on his face, and I was a little worried. I stepped out of Louis' arms and walked over to my Twin, who instantly wrapped her arms around me and tried not to cry, whispering "it's my fault" over and over again. She tried to be quiet but everybody heard her._

"_It's not your fault, Chloe." Zayn said quietly, speaking for the first time since we had entered the room. He threw a stern glance at Liam, warning him to stay put, before getting up and striding over to Chloe. He gently pulled her out of my arms and tugged her towards Liam. She only resisted for a second before perching on the bed next to him, unsure what to do. He reached out and softly pulled her into his arms, and that was it; she broke. She cried on his shoulder, sobbing "I'm sorry" over and over again until her voice was hoarse with apologising._

"_It's not your fault, Chloe." He soothed her, rubbing her back reassuringly and kissing the top of her head. It took me a while to realise that I was crying too, and Lou wiped the salty tears from my cheeks with his soft hands. When Chloe had finished crying and finally started to accept that it wasn't her fault, we forced Liam back into bed and all pulled up chairs. There wasn't enough for everybody, so Louis pulled me into his lap and cradled me in his strong arms._

"_I think we all need to talk." Liam said heavily, looking down at Zayn, who was sat in the chair closest to him. He was gripping Liam's hand tightly, his muddy eyes burning with a million words that he couldn't say._

"_We know about how you feel about each other, Liam." Niall said quietly, hoping to dispel some of the tension that was seeping into the air. Liam nodded._

"_I know. Zayn told me what happened. But you don't know my side of the story." He looked around at all of us and told us about how his relationship with Danielle had fallen apart, and how he'd had feelings for Zayn for a long time. Then he told us about what really happened the day that Zayn ran away back in February, and what happened before Seth's funeral. He didn't blush, and neither did Zayn, except for one time; Liam told us about a kiss that they had shared the night before Liam ended up in hospital. I knew what had really happened, so I was watching their reactions extra carefully. Liam caught Zayn's eyes briefly and they both blushed, but it was like a scene from a really gushy movie, and I had to refrain from laughing. It was enough for everybody; if Zayn's actions in the past week hadn't convinced them, this was enough to show them how Zayn and Liam truly felt about each other._

"_So, you're… __together__, now?" Harry asked awkwardly. Zayn and Liam looked at each other briefly, and the corner of Zayn's mouth lifted in a smile._

"_Yes." Liam said simply, and Zayn squeezed his hand. "But we understand if it's gonna be a problem for you guys." I was so proud of Liam; he'd been to hell and back in the last week and a half, but he was still strong enough to put his friends first, and I really admired him for that._

"_No." Niall said quietly. "It's not going to be a problem. Not for me. I'm happy for you guys." He smiled lightly and Chloe nodded her head in agreement. Louis and Harry looked at each other for a while, and it was like they were communicating telepathically or something. Then they both turned to Liam and Zayn and smiled._

"_Of course we've not got a problem with it. You're our best friends, and the way that you feel about each other isn't going to change that." Louis smiled and patted Liam's leg fondly. _

"_What he said." Harry grinned, and we all laughed. Then Beth cleared her throat, and we all looked at her expectantly._

"_Look; I know this isn't much to do with me, and I don't know you guys very well," Beth said, gently but matter-of-factly. "But I would really like to get to know you guys, and I definitely do not have a problem. You two are cute together." She shrugged nonchalantly and I couldn't help but feel proud of her too; she'd kinda been thrown in the deep end here, but all she wanted was to be friends. I reached over and hugged her lightly and she grinned at me._

"_Well, now that's sorted; I think we should give Liam some rest." Louis said sensibly, glaring at Liam and making sure he understood that he was not moving again unless it was necessary. _

"_Well, what about JJ?" Liam said, and I froze. 1: He called me JJ! And 2: __**What**__** about me?**_

"_What__ about me, Liam?" I said, confused._

"_You never said how you feel." He replied, and I smiled. I jumped up off of Lou's lap and walked over to Liam's bed._

"_You know how I feel, Liam. I'm happy for you." I leaned in and kissed his cheek, and when I pulled away he whispered "thank you." in my ear._

* * *

><p>"Wake up, JJ." Harry whispers, and I jump up. <em>We're here already?<em> He's pulled the back door open and is gesturing for me to get out. I yawn loudly and obey, clambering out of his car and tripping in the process. He grabs me just in time, and he looks down at me and grins. "You're such a ditz sometimes."

"Thanks." I pout and swat him on the arm. He kisses my lips lightly, nothing more than friendly, and then locks the car. Lou slips his hand into mine and smooth's my hair down, whispering "bed head." and laughing. _Arse. _

"C'mon!" Harry sighs, pulling his hood over his head and heading straight for the hospital entrance. Lou does the same and I trail along behind him, trying to think of a way to disguise myself. I can't help but laugh; _I never thought I'd have to do that! _All the fans know me as "Louis' Girlfriend", and they know that I am an ex of Harry's- which gets me some abuse sometimes, but the boys just say to ignore it- but most of the fans are really nice to me. I get asked for pictures and autographs, and they all hand me Twitter names and stuff. I always try and get the boys to follow those girls that are really sweet because I think that it's a nice thing to do! And the boys are always more than happy to, which always makes me proud; no matter how big the band gets, their fans will always be the most important thing to them. Luckily nobody knows that Liam is coming out of hospital today, otherwise we'd never be able to get him out of the hospital. There's a riot van on standby just in case, which I think is hilarious.

"Quit daydreaming!" Louis smiles when I almost trip over my own feet again. _I'm such a dumbass. _We get no further than the doors when we're met by a mass of curly hair and warm brown eyes.

"Liam!" I say loudly and I run at him. I stop _just_ before I crash into him and I wrap my arms around him.

"Hey there." He chuckles and kisses the top of my head. Then Zayn walks up and I wrap my arms around him instead.

"I can't wait for you both to come home!" I giggle and everyone laughs.

"Shall we go home?" Harry gestures to the doors and Louis grabs my hand and pulls me away.

"Home." Zayn nods, slipping his hand into Liam's. _Awww._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Well, thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what you think, and feel free to leave me little ideas for one shots (e.g. Harry Potter romances, HoN, books, films, music artists, slash fics (either gender) etc…) and I will try and write some! :) love you guys! xxx<strong>_


	21. How Time Flies

_**Hello 'der! Has it only been 2 weeks? Feels like longer! Sorry it's taken me so long to update; I have lots of shitty coursework and I am totally addicted to reading Fan Fictions at the moment, so I've kind of neglected it :/ I hate saying this, and I will finish this story even if only one person reads it, but I feel like not many people read this 'cause I don't get many reviews. I am NOT saying that I will stop if I don't get reviews, it's just… I'm not ranting, I promise! :L :D I like reading the reviews because I like reading what you guys think, whether it's good or bad, and I can only improve if you guys tell me how! :D Thank you so much to my loyal reviewers, and to those who read even if you don't review, and I hope you all enjoy reading my story as much as I enjoy writing it :3**_

* * *

><p><span>How Time Flies…<span>

_The months passed by like hours; I settled into university, settled into life with Louis and Harry, got used to being away from all of my other friends, left my old life behind and settled into the new one. I was doing exceptionally well at UCL- still am, in fact- but I have a problem; a rather distressing problem that requires a lot of patience from Louis. I'm surprised he hasn't left me yet… I must be such a pain in the arse sometimes… He doesn't deserve that at all…_

"Oi, knobhead." My eyes focus and I realise that there is a hand moving rapidly in front of my face. I blink a few times and stare at my friend who is looking at me, concern settling like snow in her blue eyes. "You did it again."

"Sorry, Sam." I sigh. She laughs and flicks her blond ponytail over her shoulder. "I was…"

"Daydreaming about Louis?" She winks at me and I blush. I pretend to focus on my notes as I think of a suitable reply.

"Nooo…" I say as convincingly as possible and my friends all laugh quietly. _Well, I wasn't! Technically. Am I that obvious?_

"Right, okay." Sam nods her head, unconvinced, and smirks at me. Then I hear the deafening crack of a ruler being banged against the desk and I focus on the very moody lecturer stood in front of me. _What is this; the 1950s? _He glares at me for a while before resuming his droning on about the importance of algebra in everyday life and I gradually zone out again. _Sam will just give me her notes… _I think to myself and then smirk at my friend. _No she won't; she's daydreaming, just like me. __Jason__ will give me his notes to copy from and then Sam will copy from me whilst Jason moans at both of us for not paying attention in the first place. _Jason is my best (guy) friend; I became friends with him after my pen broke in our first lecture and he opened his pencil case and offered me one of about 20 blue and black biros. _The man is well equipped. _I had thought to myself. He's 2 months older than me, 4 inches taller than me, and his naturally chocolate hair hangs loosely over his warm brown eyes. He reminds me of Liam, which is what drew me to him in the first place. He does have his differences though; firstly, he abhors sport of any kind and only does exercise when he's forced, and secondly: he is absolutely tone deaf. There is not a single musical bone in his annoyingly hot body. But he makes up for it in intelligence and knowledge, and he's also stunningly gorgeous. If it wasn't for Louis then I would have flirted like crazy. Well, that and the fact that Jason is undoubtedly and unequivocally 100% gay.

"Right." Mr Jones says loudly, breaking me out of my thoughts. "That is due in on Tuesday, which is the fourth of December. Disappear." He waves his hands at us to dismiss us and I turn and grin at my friends. _It's Friday! _And what's even better; Louis has the weekend off. No radio interviews, performances, signings etc.; just me and him and an empty flat. Harry is disappearing off somewhere and will return tomorrow evening for a party that we're having at the flat. (_There's no reason for the party; it's just because we can.)_ We don't know where Harry's going but we will eventually; he's shit at keeping thought of having the flat to ourselves should fill me with butterflies and desire, but instead it fills me with nerves and fear. My skin feels clammy and my head starts to hurt. _What is wrong with me?_

"Are you even listening to me?" Jason waves his hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my thoughts. _Why do people keep doing that to me? _I ask myself angrily.I start to say yes but then give up when Jason raises his eyebrows.

"No. Sorry Jase; what were you saying?" I smile at him in apology and he shakes his head, obviously annoyed, and walks out of the room with Sam. I put my coat on, grab my bag and follow them. We walk to the gate, them in deep conversation and me panicking about tonight, and when we stop I grab Jason's warm hand and turn him to face me.

"I'm sorry." I say and he raises his eyebrows but doesn't let go of my hand. "I should have been listening."

"Fine." He rolls his eyes and pulls his hand away from mine._ I'm always daydreaming, and it's taken me this long to realise that it gets on his nerves…_ "As I was saying; I will email you what we're supposed to do for our coursework. But… if you're too busy daydreaming to even bother listening then I shan't." He huffs and I smile; he reminds me of Damien from the House of Night books.

"I said I was sorry, okay? Please forgive me?" I smile at him and bat my eyelashes, giving him the puppy-dog look that I've been perfecting for months because I know he can't resist it. He glares at me for a few seconds but then the corner of his mouth lifts in an unwilling smile.

"Okay, okay." He sighs dramatically and I lean in and kiss his cheek. Then I pull back and pull my coat tighter around me.

"You're a life saver, Jase." I laugh and he smiles unenthusiastically, mumbling something about me being lazy and too focused on my "stupidly-hot" boyfriend to listen to my "extremely intelligent" best friend. I chuckle and spot Chloe stood by the gates waiting for us (_she does something to do with Music whereas Sam, Jason and I do Maths.)_, obviously texting someone. _Niall, probably. _I creep up behind her and shout "hey" loudly in her ear. She shrieks, almost dropping her phone but grabbing it just in time. She turns to glare at me and I chuckle; _if looks could kill, I'd be six feet under right now… _She's about to rant at me when a shiny black Land Rover pulls up outside of the gates and Harry jumps out of the driver's seat. _A new car… again; since February he has had three or four different cars. _He runs at me and engulfs me in a bear hug, not caring who's there. A lot of my friends and fellow students are fans but they're older and more mature; meaning they all just stop and stare as opposed to running at him and trying to rape him (_okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you know what I mean!) _I wrap my arms around his waist and he hugs me tighter, whispering things like "I'm glad you're done" and "come save me from Zayn and Liam's mushiness"

"Mushiness? Really?" I laugh and he pulls away from me, grinning. I let go of him regretfully; _he's really warm!_

"Yes, it's a word, and yes, you have to save me from it." He grins and I can't help but smile back. He's become my best friend again in the past few months and I have a sneaking suspicion why, but I'm not going to confront him about it yet.

"Shut up, you moron!" I laugh and swat him on the arm. He steps away from me, clutching his hands to his chest and pretending to be offended, but the twinkle in his eyes remains. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Giving you a lift home." He looks at me like I'm stupid and I shake my head. I start to protest that we're perfectly fine with getting the bus when he puts his hand over my mouth. "I just picked Zayn and Liam up from their date and thought I'd get you and Chloe on the way back. We're all going to the same place." He shrugs. I nod and he uncovers my mouth. I look around for the familiar jet-black hair and come to the conclusion that Chloe has already gotten in the car, probably to escape the cold. I turn to my right and realise that Sam and Jason are still stood there; Sam is waiting for me to move so that she can greet Harry properly and Jason is just staring at him.

"Close your mouth, Jase. You're catching flies." I wink at him as Sam high fives Harry, and Jason's mouth snaps closed immediately. He doesn't bother replying; he just shoots daggers at me with his muddy eyes and I smirk. "Gosh; you think you'd be used to him by now, Jase…"

"Shut up." He glares, blushing slightly.

"Aww, you're such a fangirl, Jase." I laugh and he glares at me again. I dance out of his way as he tries to hit me with his book, blow a kiss at him and then head for the car. "Bye Jase, bye Sam." Jason glares at me and Sam yells "BYE!" and I shake my head; _strange girl… She's the type of girl that would walk into a fridge and say sorry... Actually, I think she's done that once… She wasn't even drunk… _I laugh to myself. Then I climb into the car and am greeted by a sweet, but slightly nauseating, sight; Liam and Zayn are sat in the back of the car, holding hands and whispering stuff to each other like childhood sweethearts. Don't get me wrong, I love them to pieces, but they're so sickly sweet at the moment. They are painfully obvious about their relationship, too; they're so lucky that people know about it…

* * *

><p>"<em>Okay guys, I have something to say." Liam said into the microphone, trying to make himself heard over the screams of the thousands of girls gathered at the London HMV Apollo for a "surprise" gig. The screams died down eventually and Liam's coffee coloured eyes scanned the front row, looking for me and Danielle. Danielle was determined to stay friends with Liam so, a few days after he came out of hospital, she went round to his flat and stayed for two days, talking everything over and patching up their relationship. Liam had asked her before the gig if she was okay with him telling everybody about him and Zayn and she gave him her full support. We both looked up at him and smiled and I raised my thumb in support. He nodded gratefully and continued to speak. "As you all know, Danielle and I broke up a few months ago, and I never thought I'd find someone that I loved as much as her. But I did." Danielle squeezed my hand with tears in her eyes as she watched the boy she loved declare his love for someone else. <em>

"_Me." Zayn said bravely into the microphone, stepping forward and grabbing Liam's hand, and there was a moment of awkward silence as the crowd tried to work out whether Zayn and Liam were joking or not. Liam made a decision, and I knew what he was going to do before he did it; he leaned over and pressed his lips to Zayn's in a sweet yet possessive kiss, and then the crowd erupted into screams again. There were some boos, but not many, and when they boys pulled away from each other they looked out at their fans._

"_I hope you guys can accept this. You guys mean the world to us and your opinion is so important." Liam shouted into the microphone, trying to make himself heard, and the fans screamed again. I spotted quite a few girls crying, and when I looked up I saw that Liam was gripping Zayn's hand as if his life depended on it. Louis walked forward and wrapped his arm around Liam's waist and Harry did the same to Zayn; showing their support. Niall bounded forward and placed a hand on Liam and Zayn's shoulders and the echo of screams grew louder. I turned to look at Danielle who was looking up at the boys, dry eyed and smiling, and I couldn't work out whether she was faking it or not. Lots of girls were taking pictures of her reaction as well as the boys', and I understood that no matter how she felt right then, she __had__ to look happy._

"_Okay, this next song is called Everything About You." Harry said brightly and the music kicked in. The boys separated, but I noticed that Zayn and Liam kept glancing at each other, and Liam sang "boy" instead of "girl". Then came the most obvious; Zayn couldn't take his eyes off of his boyfriend throughout his whole solo. It was incredibly cheesy but the fans loved it, and so did I._

_**And you have always been the only one I wanted and I wanted you to know; without you I can't face it  
>All we wanna have is fun, but they say that we're too young; let them say what they want. It's everything about you.<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Heloooooo? Anybody hooooooome?" Harry waves his hand in front of my face and laughs, pulling me out of my thoughts. <em>What is it with me and spacing out today? <em>

"Piss off." I laugh and swat his hand away. I look around and realise that I'm the only one left in the car, and I grab my bag and jump out of the door. Harry lightly smacks my arse as I walk off and I whip round to face him. He feigns innocence and I glare at him. Then he grabs my hand and gently pulls me back to him.

"I'm going now." He smiles innocently and I laugh. _I know he's up to something…_  
>"Okay babe." I smile and pull him into a tight hug. "Have fun doing… whatever. You'll be back before the party, yeah? To help out?" I pull away from him and he kisses my cheek lightly.<p>

"Of course." He gives me one last squeeze before turning away and getting into his car, driving away and leaving me in the freezing cold. I turn to look at the block of expensive apartments and feel nerves seep into my pores and settle in my stomach. Then an overwhelming sense of freedom washes over me and I start to feel excited. I haven't seen Louis properly for the last two weeks; they've been doing various radio interviews and little performances in local places, and I've really missed him. I've missed all of the boys, but I've missed my boyfriend the most.

"What are you doing?" Someone shouts at me, scaring the crap out of me. I drop my bag in shock and then look up through my blond waves, seeking out the dick that scared me. "Why are you stood there like a lemon in the freezing cold? Come inside!" Louis laughs, but the concern is still settling in his icy blue eyes. _It's not __that__ cold…_ I bend down and gather up my things, and when I stand up Lou is stood in front of me.

"You scared the shit out of me!" I glare at him playfully and he pulls my bag out of my hands and carefully sets it on the floor. Then he gathers me in his warm embrace and hugs me tightly, whispering "I've missed you" into my ear even though I only saw him this morning. _I know what he means though_.

"I've missed you too." I whisper back as I rest my head on his chest. I wrap my arms around his waist, grateful for his warmth in the bitter December ice. He pulls away slightly and rests his forehead against mine, his warm breath mixing with the cold air and hitting my cheeks.

"Shall we go inside?" He whispers and his silvery-blue eyes sparkle. I nod slightly and he leans in and kisses me, pressing his warm lips to my cold ones. He deepens the kiss and his cold hands slide under my coat and shirt and start tracing soothing patterns on my back. That's when it happens; I tense up, just like I always do, and he sighs so quietly that I almost don't hear him. He presses his lips to mine one more time and then pulls away from me. I start to apologise but he shakes his head and picks my bag up off of the floor. Then he grabs my hand and tugs me towards the apartment.

_So that's my problem; I still can't let him touch me. It's been months, and no matter how much he promises me that he loves me and would never do anything to hurt me… I still can't let him touch me. I just wish…_

"Jordan?" Louis looks down at me and smiles, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "I love you. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do. I love you too." I squeeze his hand and the smile finally reaches his eyes. He leans down and kisses my lips lightly, and that's when I decide; _I'm not going to let this fear beat me. Never._

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><p><em><strong>Well, there you go guys. It's probably a bit shit, but please review and tell me what you think! I love you all! :3 xXx<strong>_

_**P.S: HAPPY HARRY'S BIRTHDAY! xD xXx**_

_Lyrics: Everything About You- One Direction_


	22. A Lost Cause

_**Hello 'der! Long time, no see! Sorry for the wait, but I've been really busy :/ Oh well; it's here now! It's the longest chapter I've written to date, and it's also a really important chapter that I've been dying to write for ages, but I wasn't quite sure how :L Please review, as I really do love to hear what you guys think! Love you all! Enjoy xXx**_

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><p><span>A Lost Cause<span>

I drop my heavy bag on the floor as Lou closes the door behind him, and then he slips his arms around my waist and rests his head on my shoulder.

"Home sweet home." He laughs lightly, and I can't help but agree; even though we haven't really been away, it still feels like neither of us has been here. I've been busy with uni, and he's been busy with… fame. I smile more naturally and he places a light kiss on my neck before pulling away.

"Well, you probably have coursework to do, so why don't you go make a start on it?" He says cryptically and I raise my eyebrow. _What's he planning? _I decide not to say anything; instead, I kiss his cheek and then make my way upstairs.

When I enter my room I see a beautiful dress laid out on my side of the bed; it's strapless, knee length, figure-hugging and is almost the same colour as Lou's eyes. There's a card on top which reads "Wear this tonight, please? Love, Boo Bear x", and I start to get worried. _What __is__ he planning? _I shake my head and walk across the landing to my study. I sit at my desk and place my head in my hands, desperately trying to work out what Lou is doing and why on earth I would need to wear a beautiful dress like that tonight. I hear the front door open, but all I can hear is muffled voices and I can't tell who it is. _It's probably the boys… Minus Harry. What __is__ he doing, anyway? _I hear bangs and crashes from the kitchen, and after 20 minutes of trying to focus on my Drama research a delicious smell wafts through the door. _Uh oh; he's cooking. This is not good. _Louis is not a good cook. I know this, he knows this, and everybody else knows this. I'm not a very good cook either, hence why Harry usually cooks, or we either get a takeaway or go out to eat. I can't smell burning, which is a good thing, so I decide to leave him alone. I get up and walk into my room, and then give in to the temptation; I decide to try the dress on. _Just to see what it looks like… _

I manage to zip the dress up on my own, and when I turn to look in the mirror I can't help but gasp; the dress is amazing! It hugs my figure in all the right places, and the colour is mesmerising. _Just like his eyes. _I carefully pull the clip out of my hair and let my natural waves hang loosely over my pale shoulders. The blue of the dress compliments my dark blonde hair, and the sequins on the dress throw rainbows in the winter light. I decide to go along with whatever Lou is planning and dress up for dinner. I cross the room to my dresser and reach for my make-up box, but there is a note attached to it; "A natural beauty like you doesn't need this." _Aww… What's he up to? _I'm really confused… and then _BAM! _Oh shit… _is he going to propose to me?_ I start to panic. I mean, I love him. A lot. _But am I ready to marry him? Even if we have a long engagement and get married in 2 years' time… _

"Jordan? Can you come downstairs please baby?" Lou calls from the bottom of the stairs and I panic even more.

"Uh, sure." I manage to choke out, and he laughs nervously.

"Are you wearing the dress?" He asks after a slight pause, and I blush. I shout back "yes." and then run my hands through my hair nervously. _Here goes… _I mentally shake myself and then walk out of my room before I can convince myself to hide in my room. _What if he's just being romantic and I'm assuming things? Or he really __is__ gonna propose and I'm gonna be so confused that I embarrass him or upset him or something? _This internal debate continues until I reach the bottom of the stairs. Then I slowly turn the corner and am greeted with the sweetest sight ever; Louis is stood there in his red skinny jeans, white shirt and red braces (_which he knows is my favourite outfit_) with a black rose in his hand. Behind him the dining table is covered in a white tablecloth and set up for a romantic dinner for two, like in the movies. It's so cliché but I love it. He steps forward, his white Toms making almost no noise on the laminate flooring, and hands me the rose. Then he leans in and kisses my cheek softly before taking my free hand and leading me over to the table. He pulls the chair out for me and I sit down, murmuring my thanks, and then he walks over to his side of the table and sits down. Then Niall steps out from the kitchen, dressed in black with a white tea towel over his arm and a bottle of wine in his hand, and pours a glass of wine for me and Lou. Just as he's leaving he winks at me, and I struggle to supress my laughter. As soon as he's back in the kitchen I turn to Louis and giggle.

"Wow, Lou. What's all this for?" I ask, and he takes my hand from across the table and grins.

"Because I think we deserve it. We hardly spend any time together like this, and I know that if we went to a proper restaurant that we'd get interrupted by fans, and as much as I love them, I really want to spend some time with you. Just you." He kisses my hand before releasing it and raising his glass. "To us."

"To us." I smile and clink our glasses together. I take a sip of my wine and then put the glass down on the table. "So… how much have you paid Niall to wait on us tonight?" I laugh. I feel a bit guilty though, because he should be with Chloe.

"Not a lot. He was quite happy to do it." Louis shrugs, and then smiles. "But that's not all; Zayn and Liam are helping too. Harry only gets out of it because he's not here." I can't help but laugh, and Niall pops his head out of the kitchen.

"Your dinner will be out in a minute, okay?" He smiles before disappearing again.

"Thanks, slaves!" Lou calls after him, and I hear them all laughing in the kitchen. Then Niall returns with a cocktail glass, and this time he's followed by Liam who also has a glass in his hand. Liam places the glass in front of me and I realise that it's a starter; prawn cocktail. _They've really put a lot of effort into this. _Liam leans in and kisses my cheek softly before returning to the kitchen. Niall does the same, and I look across at Louis who is grinning brightly.

"You've all really put a lot of effort into this, haven't you?" I smile and he blushes.

"Yeah, but just humour me and pretend that I had nothing to do with this and we're at a real restaurant, yeah? Because…" He frowns slightly. "Because we've been together for nearly 5 months now and I don't think we've been on a proper date yet."

"Aw, you're so sweet." I blush and he waves his hand.

"I know." He grins. "So how's college then?"

We tuck into our starter and talk about… well, everything. When we're done with the starter Zayn comes out and collects our empty glasses, and I come to the conclusion that the three of them are taking it on turns to be the chefs and waiters. Niall and Zayn bring out the main dishes, and I realise what it is before the plates are set down because the delicious smell reaches me first; spaghetti bolognaise. _My favourite. _

"Thank you." I smile up at the boys and they just grin back. Then Lou and I eat our dinner in comfortable silence, only speaking to comment on how nice the food is or to ask if the other wants another glass of wine. I don't want to drink too much because… well, I don't think I'll ever be able to get drunk again because of… _him._

"Are you okay, JJ?" Lou asks me, and I blink stupidly when I realise that he called me JJ. I decide not to comment on it though, but I'm not sure whether Harry would be okay with it. _Or would he? Has Louis been calling me JJ for ages and I just haven't noticed…? _"Jordan?"

"Yeah, sorry. Spaced out." I say for probably the fifth time today. _What is wrong with me? _"I was just distracted by the amazing food."

"Yeah, I noticed." He laughs, and reaches over the table to wipe away some food from my chin with a napkin. His hand lingers, and he lightly brushes his thumb over my bottom lip before pulling away. I can't help but think about how corny this whole situation is, but at the same time I think it's really adorable and it's just what I… what _we _need.

"Are you finished?" Liam says from behind me and I jump; I didn't realise he was there. He laughs quietly and I look up at him and smile.

"Yes, thank you. Can I have a glass of water though, please?" I ask. He nods and takes both of our plates out.

"Don't like the wine?" Lou jokes, but I can sense a hint of seriousness.

"No, it's amazing; I just don't want to drink too much." I assure him, and that's it; that's all I have to say. He understands straight away why I don't want to drink too much, and that's why I love him so much; he just _gets_ me. I lean forwards and put my elbow on the table, idly playing with my hair, and Lou bites his lip. His leg brushes mine under the table and his eye slight up like fire.

"Did you guys want desert?" Zayn says from behind me, and I'm not the only one that notices the innuendo in his voice because Louis looks up and smirks at him. I instantly sit up straight and turn to Zayn.

"Depends what it is." I joke, and Louis brushes his leg against mine again, sending electric shocks all through my body.

"Toffee cheesecake for you, and strawberry for Louis." Zayn says and I smile; toffee cheesecake is my favourite too. _Did I mention that I love Louis…?_

"Yes please." I smile, and Zayn nods before disappearing into the kitchen again. Louis grasps my hand across the table and traces patterns on it with his thumb.

"Are you having a good time?" He asks, piercing my eyes with his. I nod and his eyes light up like a kid on Christmas day. "I love you. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do, silly." I shake my head at his insecurity; usually it's me saying stuff like that. "I love you too, Lou Bear." He smiles at my adaptation of the nickname his mum gave him and I squeeze his hand.

"Here you go guys." Niall says, and I'm startled again. _I really need to start paying attention… _He places the plates in front of me and Louis and we both say thanks. Niall just smiles and walks out of the room again. I start to eat my cheesecake with the little fork provided, marvelling at Louis' attention to detail. Although, I'm sure Liam had a hand in planning all of this. I start to feel a little weird, and when I look up I see that Louis is just watching me.

"Don't watch me eat." I laugh, and he just shakes his head. I brush my leg against his again and he just smiles.

"Sorry." He chuckles. I can see him eyeing up my food and I sigh quietly. _I hate sharing food…_

"Would you like to try some of my cheesecake?" I ask him and he pretends to have a heart attack.

"Are you actually offering to share your food with me, Jordan?" He smirks and I roll my eyes.

"You're such a drama queen, Lou." I shake my head.

"You love it." He winks, and I just shake my head again. He takes some of my cheesecake and I glare at him.

"I said you could have some, not half of it!" I say and he laughs.

"The look on your face…" He says in between giggles and I just glare at him playfully. I carry on eating and ignore him, and he keeps brushing his leg against mine under the table, which is really distracting. I finish before he does and he holds out his fork with a little piece of strawberry cheesecake on the end. "Would you like a bit?"

"Yes please." I say quietly, and I reach for the fork. He pulls it out of my reach and I realise that he wants to feed it to me instead. _He is so corny sometimes…_ I roll my eyes and lean forwards and he places the bit of cheesecake in my mouth. Then he pulls away and smiles at me, and I roll my eyes again. "Wow; that is really nice. Morrisons' or Sainsbury's?"

"I made this myself, I'll have you know." He says, pretending to be offended, and I raise my eyebrows. "Okay, Waitrose, but I am still offended that you didn't even consider the fact that I could have made it!"

"We both know what a terrible cook you are." I laugh, but I reach forward and squeeze his hand so he knows I'm not just being mean. "This has all been amazing. Thank you."

"No problem." He stands up and dances over to my seat, and then offers me his hand. "Will you dance with me?"

"There's no music, Lou." I say and he laughs.

"Boys!" He shouts, and Liam, Niall and Zayn all come out of the kitchen and stand in the doorway. Niall has his guitar in his hand, and he starts playing "Torn". Zayn and Liam start singing, and Louis takes my hand and pulls me out of the chair. I can't help but laugh, but I allow him to pull me into the middle of the room. He places both hands on my waist, and I wrap my arms around his neck. We start to sway to the music, and he leans down and presses his lips to mine lightly.

"You really are amazing; you know that?" I whisper and he nods his head.

"I know." He laughs and I roll my eyes. "Did I tell you how beautiful you look?"

"No. But thanks." I blush and it's his turn to roll his eyes. "Thank you. For everything. Tonight has been just… amazing."

"You're welcome. I know it's probably been a bit cheesy, but I just wanted to show you how much you mean to me." Now he blushes, and I can't help but smile at the fact that he's so open with his feelings, even when the boys are still in the room. Niall starts playing "Look After You" by The Fray, and Louis looks down into my eyes and smiles at me.

"This is our song." He says quietly, but I'm wrapped up in my own thoughts; all I can think about is that night that I had a nightmare and he sang this to help me get to sleep. He's been there through it all, and how have I repaid him; by treating him like he's gonna kill me if I let him touch me. _I don't deserve him… _I place a kiss on his cheek and then step out of his arms. He frowns at me but I touch his cheek reassuringly and whisper that I'll be right back. Then I dance over to where the boys are stood and thank them for tonight. I hug each of them and kiss them on the cheek, and then I tell them that it's okay for them to leave. They say goodbye to Louis and then make their way to the door. Niall is the last one to leave; he leans in to kiss me on the cheek and whispers "Have fun. You deserve it." He winks at me and smiles before exiting and closing the door behind him. I sigh quietly and lean my head on the door, unsure of what to do next. Louis walks up behind me and places his hands on my waist. He gently turns me around to face him and his eyes are full of worry.

"What's wrong, JJ?" He asks softly and I shake my head.

"I don't think I can do this, Lou. I don't deserve someone like you." I slide out of his grip and walk away from him. "What do you mean, you can't do this?" He says, worry seeping into his voice. I stop where I am and take a deep breath.

"You don't deserve to be with someone like me. I can't… I'm not…" I shake my head. _I don't know what I'm doing._

"Don't you dare." I hear him stride over to me, and he grabs hold of my shoulders and spins me around. "Don't do this. Not now. You've made such great progress, and now…"

"Progress?" I say incredulously and pull away from him. "Progress? I'm still the stupid, insecure little girl that I was five months ago."

"No, you're not. Just stop trying to talk yourself out of stuff and just _feel._" He leans in and kisses me gently but I push him away.

"I'm a lost cause, Louis!" I shout at him and he shakes his head. "Stop trying to fix me because it won't work!"

"It will! It has! Please, Jordan, don't ruin it. Why are you doing this?" He asks angrily.

"You don't understand." I mutter and his expression turns to anger.

"I don't understand?" He says with disbelief and sarcasm dripping from his usually-warm voice. He clenches his fists in anger, but I'm still not afraid of him. "I don't understand? Yes I do! I'm the one that's been to all those counselling sessions with you. I'm the one that's woken up with you in the middle of the night when you've had a nightmare. I'm the one that's held you in my arms and sang you to sleep every night because you're now afraid of the dark. I'm the one that loves you so much that I'd give up everything for you. So _now_ tell me that I don't understand." His voice breaks and I look up instantly and see that his eyes are brimmed with tears. He reaches for me, and this time I don't resist; he presses his lips to mine and pushes me backwards until my back hits the wall. He deepens the kiss, slipping his tongue inside my mouth and clashing his tongue with mine and he grips my waist like his life depends on it. I run my hands through his hair and he pulls his lips away from mine and kisses a path down my neck to my collarbone.

"I love you." He whispers against my neck. I grab his cheeks in my hands and pull his head away so I can look into his eyes; his warm, comforting, deep blue eyes.

"I'm so sorry. I… I love you too, Lou Bear. I do. I'm so sorry." He shakes his head and leans in and kisses me, and I slide my hands down to his hips and pull him closer. He moans against my mouth and pulls back slightly, catching my bottom lip between his teeth and pulling slightly. Then he starts kissing my neck again, and he presses his pelvis against mine. I moan breathlessly and he pulls away from my neck and stares deep into my eyes.

"Do you trust me, Jordan?" He says softly.

"Yes." I whisper without hesitation. He keeps one hand gripped on my waist, not tight enough to hurt me, but tight enough to make me realise that he doesn't want to let go, and runs his other hand through my hair.

"I love you so much, and I promise you that I'll never hurt you, okay? I promise that I will never, _ever_ make you do anything that you don't want to do. I promise you." Tears tumble down my cheeks and I nod slightly. He wipes away my tears with his hand but they fall too thick and fast for him. "Do you understand me, baby? I promise you that you will never, ever have to go through all of that again. I promise." He pulls me into his arms and I sob quietly. I lean my head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat, and he squeezes me tight and whispers "I promise" over and over again. I pull away from him and hold his cheeks in my hands. I wipe away a few stray tears that trickle down his cheeks and I'm stunned again by how much he loves me. _I still don't deserve him…_

"What did I ever do to deserve you?" I whisper in awe and he shakes his head. I lean forwards and capture his lips in a passionate kiss, and he presses me against the wall again. I moan against his lips and then push him away slightly. "I want you. Now." I say firmly and his eyes widen slightly.

"Are you sure?" He says and I nod my head.

"I've never been surer." I whisper and I kiss him with as much passion and love that I can muster. His hands slide around my waist and down to my bum and he lifts me up slightly. I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist and he carries me up to our bedroom. He pushes the door open, and when we're inside I kick it closed. He turns us around and pushes me back against the wall.

"I won't hurt you. I promise." He whispers into my ear and I grip his biceps tightly, marvelling at the hidden strength in them.

"I know you won't, Lou Bear. I know you won't." I whisper back, and for the first time in a long time I finally let myself be happy…

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><p><em><strong>Well there you go. JJ has finally realised that Louis isn't gonna hurt her and now… well, now they're gonna do the deed xD I haven't written it in because the chapter is long enough already :L but maybe I'll write a sex scene in later ;D please review as this chapter is really important to me and I need to know what you guys think :3 Love you all! xXx<strong>_


	23. Broken Angel

_**Hi guys! Thanks for your reviews and favourites and subscriptions, and I'm glad you liked the last chapter! I think I'm probably gonna wrap this story up soon 'cause I keep getting stuck with it, and I'm not sure how much further I can go with it :L can you guys leave me some suggestions like you did before on how **__**you**__** would like the story to end? I like to hear (well… read :L) your ideas :3**_

_**By the way; I read through the whole of the story and realised how much drama there actually is! I think it's 'cause I feel that if there isn't drama then people won't want to read it D: I apologise for the ridiculous amount of drama! :L anyways; read on, my lovelies! Enjoy xXx**_

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><p><span>Broken Angel<span>

I wake up to the sweet sound of Louis humming; I'm lying on his chest and I can feel the sound reverberating through it. His hand traces soothing patterns on my naked back underneath the duvet and I realise what song it is; Look After You. I try, and fail, to not smile and get back to sleep.

"I know you're awake, JJ." He chuckles and I laugh quietly.

"Not a great actress, am I?" I reply and he laughs again.

"Yeah you are; I just know you too well." He kisses the top of my head and I giggle. He laughs with me and then says hesitantly, "How… how are you? Are you okay?" His hand stops moving and it's like he's bracing himself for the worst. I prop myself up on my elbow and raise my eyebrows at him but he refuses to look me in the eye. I grab his chin and force him to look at me.

"Don't go all Edward Cullen on me, alright? I. Am. Perfectly. Fine." He finally looks me in the eye and I detect a hint of humour underneath all of the concern. "I am… Christ, I don't know why I waited so long, to be honest. I mean I knew that you weren't gonna hurt me or take advantage of me or anything but I was so worried about having sex or doing anything like that really because of all the stuff that happened since _he_ got out of prison and I really wanted to but I couldn't and then- mmph!" He puts an end to my babbling by pressing his soft lips to mine. He smiles into the kiss and his hand starts moving on my back again. We stay like that for a while, kissing lazily and relishing in each other's touch, until the house phone rings.

"Fuck sake." I mutter against his mouth. He laughs as I jump up and grab the phone; we have one in our bedroom, so does Harry, and there's two downstairs. I don't bother getting dressed and I can feel his eyes on my body. A slightly uncomfortable feeling lingers but not enough to make me want to cover myself up in front of him; I got over _that_ last night...

"Hello, you have reached Louis and Jordan. This had better be good." I pretend to be annoyed.

"**Do you always answer the phone like that? Because it's kinda rude…" **Chloe says and I laugh.

"Nah, I saw the caller ID and decided to be rude, especially for you. What do you want?" I say playfully.

"**The rudeness continues!" **She laughs. **"I just wanted to ask what time you wanted me and Niall over later for the party? We're willing to help prepare, if you want?" **I hear Niall say something and then Chloe laughs.

"I take it you made this decision without asking Niall first?"

"**Yep. He can help." **She says this slightly away from the phone and I can tell that she's glaring at Niall. He mumbles something again and she laughs. **"You love it really. Anyway… I phoned you, Twin, because I text you three times and you didn't reply."  
><strong>  
>"Oh. I was asleep, sorry." I gasp quietly as Louis slides his arms around my waist and leans his head on my shoulder. <em>I didn't hear him get off of the bed… <em>"If you could help then that would be great! I've told everyone to get here around half seven, and it's only half past eleven now, so you guys can get here at about two o'clock and help out after, if that's okay? We can all get a takeaway before everyone gets here for the party."

"**Yeah, that's fine. How many people are coming?"**

"Uh… I've got the list somewhere; I'll show you later. It's just a few of our friends and a few of the boys' friends before they were famous; strictly no famous people allowed… except for the boys, obviously. Ruth and Nicola are going to be here too. Plus Danielle and Hannah. And Gemma."

"**Both Zayn and Liam's ex-girlfriends? ****And**** Hannah? That's gonna be awkward. What time is Harry getting back?"**

"Uh…" Louis starts kissing my neck which is _really _distracting… "Uh, about three o'clock, I think. I get the feeling he won't be alone." We've all had this discussion before; we think we know what Harry is up to but we're not going to say anything until he does.

"**Yeah, well… Okay, I've gotta go now but I'll see you later. Bye!" **

"Yeah, see you later Clo." We both hang up and I giggle. "Lou, that's really not helpful when I'm trying to talk to Chloe…"

"Sorry." I can feel him smiling against my neck and he carries on kissing me. Part of me is surprised that I'm already fine with him touching me but another part of me isn't because it's _Louis_; he was never going to hurt me in the first place and I should have realised that sooner.

"So… two o'clock… I'd say that gives us approximately two hours to do whatever we want." I say coyly. I'm not used to being so… forward. _I like it!_

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting, Miss Jones?" He murmurs against my neck. I step out of his arms and turn to face him, and then he grabs me by the waist and gently pulls me straight back into his arms.

"Why, I think I am, Mr Tomlinson." I laugh as I rest my hands on his shoulders. He keeps one hand on my waist and uses the other to tilt my chin up towards him. He lightly presses his lips to mine and I smile against his lips; _I love his gentleness. _He pulls away slightly, biting my bottom lip at he moves, and I laugh breathlessly.

"Well then," He laughs and lifts me up. I wrap my legs around his waists, still gripping his shoulders with my hands, and he places his hands on my bum and holds me up. "We better get started."

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><p>Three and a half hours later everyone (except Harry) is gathered in the front room. Chloe is sat on Niall's lap in one of the chairs, Louis is sat in the other, and Liam and Zayn are sat on the sofa. I'm pacing in front of all of them with a notebook in my hand.<p>

"Right. Harry's going to be here in a minute; he can go with you, Lou, to get the booze. Here's the list of what we need." I hand him the list and he just smiles at me. "Liam, you already have the list for the food. We don't want too much; just crisps, chocolate, shit like that for people to munch on. I don't want everybody to have an empty stomach when they drink and then puke everywhere 'cause I _will_ freak. Niall, you can either stay with us and help tidy or go with one of the pairs and _what the hell are you laughing at, Lou_?"

"Jordan, your OCD-ness is showing." Everybody laughs and I blush crimson. Lou reaches out and gently pulls me onto his lap and I glare at him. "C'mon baby, I was just kidding."

"Yeah, well, I've never had a party before and I want it to be perfect, okay?" I swat him on the shoulder and everyone laughs again.

"It'll be fine, Jordan." Liam smiles at me and Zayn agrees with him. Niall just laughs loudly and Chloe hits him on the arm. Then I hear the key turn in the lock and jump up.

"Harry's back!" I cry and everybody laughs again. Lou jumps up with me and grabs hold of my hand and I tug him into the hallway just as Harry starts to open the door. He pokes his head around the door and spots me.

"What are you doing?" I laugh and he grimaces.

"Hi to you too. Just go and wait in the front room please, JJ." He smiles tightly and I raise my eyebrow at him. Harry gives Lou a meaningful look and Lou nods his head and drags me back into the front room.

"What's going on? Where's Harry?" Niall asks as Lou sits down on the chair and pulls me onto his lap.

"I don't know." I sigh, completely confused. "He said to wait in here. Harry, what are you doing?"

"Hang on. I'll be there now." He huffs. Lou tells me to be quiet and I hear Harry talking to someone. "Lou, who is he talking to?" Lou shakes his head just as Harry walks into the room.

"Hi guys." He smiles. Everybody says "hi" back and he puts his hands in his jeans' pockets. "Right. Well. Uh. I guess, uh, you're all wondering where I was? Well, uh, I have something to tell you guys. Uh… I, uh… I have a girlfriend."

"I knew it!" Chloe says loudly, diffusing the minimal tension, and everybody laughs when Harry's eyes widen.

"You… you knew?" He says incredulously, causing everybody to laugh again.

"Well, I guessed. Who is it?" Everybody stares at him expectantly and he sighs.

"Uh… Can you come out here please, babe?" He says towards the doorway. There's a moment of silence and then someone steps out… A beautiful someone who is extremely familiar…

"Really?" I laugh nervously, not meaning to speak out loud. There is a distinct difference between guessing_ and actually being right_. "Beth?"

"Yeah. Hi." She waves awkwardly and everyone sits in stunned silence. I look into her icy blues, trying to detect any hint of humour, but all I see is sincerity and… guilt?

"Okay, somebody say something." Harry says after a while and everybody looks at each other. _I guess I was the only one that worked it out, then…_

"Beth!" I cry and throw myself at her. Lou tries to grab me but I dance out of his grip and run at Beth. She obviously thinks I'm going to hit her but she's wrong; I reach out and pull her into a hug. "Oh my God, you do not know how glad I am that it is you. I thought it was going to be Gemma and I really couldn't deal with the arguments that it would cause between Harry and Zayn. Not that I don't love her, it's just… That would be very mean of Harry-"

"Hi JJ; missed you too." Beth laughs, wrapping her arms around my waist and cutting off my babbling. The room collectively breathes a sigh of relief and I laugh with her. I turn back to everyone and glare playfully.

"What did you think I was going to do; eat her?" I ask and everybody laughs. Then I turn to Harry and raise my eyebrows at him. "And you, moron; why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I was afraid you would be annoyed…?" Harry says quietly and I pull him into a hug.

"Why would I be annoyed you stupid person? I am happy for you; so unbelievably happy for you!" I laugh and he squeezes me tight. Then I pull away from him and look at everyone in the room.

"Right people; we have a party to sort out. Let's go!"

* * *

><p>"So that's it; we talked for ages, met up a couple of times, and we've been together for two weeks." Beth says to me, Nicola, Ruth, Sam, Gemma, Jason and Chloe. The music blares behind us but not so loud that we can't hear each other. The furniture has been moved out of the front room, leaving a big empty space where people are dancing. More people turned up than we'd originally planned but luckily Harry and Lou went a little overboard when buying the booze. <em>Boys will be boys. <em>We're all stood by the "bar" (aka: big long table along the side of the room that has _lots_ of alcohol on it) and the boys are off talking to their friends that they haven't seen for a while, having beers and generally just messing around.

"Aww that's so lush! I'm so glad you guys are together!" I smile. Everybody makes quiet sounds of agreement and I take a sip of my shandy. I originally decided I didn't want to drink too much tonight but now I've decided I don't care; I need to have some fun for once in a while.

"What about you, Gemma?" Jason asks, turning to my curly haired friend.

"Yeah; have you got a new boyfriend yet? I will not stand for anymore moping over Zayn." Beth jokes and Gemma just smiles. She starts talking about an amazing guy that she met at university and as we all listen carefully I come to the realisation that she really likes him. _I hope she doesn't get heartbroken again. _I look around at the group of friends that I'm sat with and I can't help but smile; each one of them is a great friend no matter how long I've been friends with them and I don't know what I'd do without a single one of them; Chloe is my Twin _(need I say more?)_ Ruth, Nicola, Chloe and Gemma understand what it's like to have someone you love be famous, and Sam, Jason and Beth are the friends that keep me attached to the normality. I mean, I know _I'm _not the one that's famous but lots of people know me as "Louis Tomlinson's Girlfriend" and it's kinda scary sometimes…

"Hey!" Someone taps me on the shoulder and I turn around and grin.

"Hey Danielle!" I pull her into a tight hug, and when I look over her shoulder I'm not surprised to see that she's alone. She pulls away from me and I say "No Hannah, then?"

"Nah, she said she doesn't feel like it. Can you blame her?" We share a look; we both know that no matter what they both say, Lou and Hannah are nowhere near as close as they used to be, or as they pretend to be. I introduce Danielle to the rest of my friends and we all sit and chat for a while.

"Can I have your attention, please?" Lou calls out and somebody turns the music off. Everyone looks at him expectantly and he grins nervously. He's stood at the end of the room, framed by the windows, and there's a big empty space around him. _Did I mention how big this flat is? _"Thanks. Well, as nice as it is to see you guys, I actually have a reason for getting you guys here; as you all know some bad things have happened recently and thankfully that's all over now, but I just want to acknowledge how brave my beautiful girlfriend is." He smiles at me and I blush like mad. Everybody says "awww" and Stan starts clapping. Andy joins in and soon everybody is clapping and cheering. I squirm in my seat and smile uncomfortably; I don't really think it's something to cheer about, but when Danielle whispers in my ear "they're applauding your strength and bravery, hon." I smile more appreciatively even though I still feel uncomfortable.

"All right, all right guys. Thanks." Louis holds up his hands and everybody quietens down. "The thing is… well… I've written a song, with some help from the rest of my boys, and I'd really appreciate it if you guys would listen and tell me what you think." Everybody claps and cheers again and my cheeks grow even hotter. They boys join him on his "stage" and Niall has a chair in his hand which he places on the edge of the space. His friend Brad hands him his guitar and he sits on the chair and strums a few notes. Louis stands in the middle of the space and the boys stand either side of him; Zayn and Harry stand on his right and Liam stands on his left, next to Niall.

"This one's for you, baby." Louis points at me. Stan says "cheesy much?" and everyone laughs. "Yeah, alright Stan, just 'cause you're jealous. Anyway; we don't have any amps or anything so you guys will just have to be quiet, if that's alright?" Everybody nods in agreement and Louis' eyes sparkle. He counts "1, 2, 3, go." and Niall starts playing. The introduction is quite long and then Louis starts singing, keeping eye contact with me the whole time.

_**You showed him all the best of you  
>But I'm afraid your best wasn't good enough<br>And know he never wanted you  
>At least not the way you wanted yourself to be loved<br>And you feel like you were a mistake  
>He's not worth all those tears that won't go away<br>I wish you could see that  
>Still you try to impress him but he never will listen<strong>_

Louis looks at me meaningfully and the boys harmonise in the background:

_**Oh broken angel, were you sad when he crushed all your dreams?  
>Oh broken angel inside you're dying 'cause you can't believe, oh you can't believe<strong>_

My heart pounds but I'm unable to take my eyes off of him.

_**And now you've grown up with this notion that you were to blame  
>And you seem so strong sometimes<br>**__**But I know that you still feel the same as that little girl who shined like an angel  
>Even after his lazy heart put you through hell<br>I wish you could see that  
>Still you try to impress him but he never will listen<strong>_

Tears fill my eyes and Chloe grabs hold of my hand.

_**Oh broken angel, were you sad when he crushed all your dreams?  
>Oh broken angel, inside you're dying 'cause you can't believe<br>He would leave you alone, and leave you so cold when you were his daughter**_

The tears flow down my cheeks but Louis carries on singing.  
><em><strong><br>But the blood in your veins, as you carry his name, turns thinner than water  
>You're just a broken angel, angel<br>**__**Oh you're just a broken angel, oh angel**_

The boys sing the chorus again and Gemma grips my other hand. Louis steps forwards slightly, his eyes filled with concern, and carries on singing:

_**And I promise that it's not your fault; it was never your fault  
>And I promise that it's not your fault; it was never your fault<strong>_

_**Oh broken angel, were you sad when he crushed all your dreams?  
>Oh broken angel, inside you're dying 'cause you can't believe<strong>_

_**He would leave you alone, and leave you so cold when you were his daughter  
><strong>__**But the blood in your veins, as you carry his name, turns thinner than water  
>Oh he would leave you alone, and leave you so cold when you were his daughter<br>**__**But the blood in your veins, as you carry his name, turns thinner than water**_

_**You're just a broken angel, angel  
><strong>__**You're just a broken angel, oh angel**_

He walks forward and takes my hands in his. The boys carry on harmonising and everyone is still listening but I know that Louis is only singing to me. About me. _Oh God. _My tears are falling relentlessly now.

_**And I promise that it's not your fault; it was never your fault  
>And I promise that it's not your fault; it was never your fault<br>**__**And I promise that it's not your fault; it was never your fault  
>And I promise that it's not your fault, 'cos you're just a broken angel<strong>_

"My broken angel." He whispers as Niall plays the last few notes and I sob loudly. The whole room is silent for a second and then everyone starts clapping and cheering. I wrap my arms around Louis' neck and sob onto his shoulder. He rubs my back soothingly and whispers "I love you." over and over again in my ear. Eventually the clapping and cheering dies down and I pull away from him. I laugh when I realise that I've covered his shoulder in makeup and when I whisper this he tells me that he doesn't care. He wipes away my tears with one hand and I realise that the whole room is waiting from me to say something.

"You are so cheesy, did you know that?" I say loudly but I grin so that he knows I'm not angry or anything. Everyone laughs but I know that they want me to say more. "I love it. Thank you." I kiss his lips lightly and the whole room erupts into cheers. Somebody turns the music back on everybody starts dancing or talking again but Louis stays with me; his arms still wrapped around my waist and his forehead resting against mine.

"Was it too much?" He asks me and I smile. We start swaying to the music even though the beat _really_ isn't designed for slow dancing. _I don't care._

"No." I say honestly. "I… Thank you, Lou. It's amazing."

"No, you're amazing." He shakes his head slightly. "You're so beautiful and brave and strong and I admire you so much for dealing with everything and overcoming it. The way you've dealt with so much this past year is just incredible and…" He leans in and kisses me until I feel dizzy. "I love you, Jordan. My broken angel."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Well, what do you think? Cheesy, I know, but it had to be done :D And Harry's secret is that he's dating Beth! xD Haha, I feel so evil right now; a couple of my friends asked me ages ago if Harry was going to get with Beth and I very convincingly lied and said no xD You know ages ago I said that someone had suggested an idea that I was going to do? That was the idea XD I think I know how I'm gonna end the story, but I really wanna hear (well, read :L) what you guys think I should do! Please review and tell me what you think! Love you guys! xXx<strong>_

_**P.S: I just have to say a massive thank you to 1Dstyle; she was the one that told me about this song in the first place, which gave me the inspiration and motivation to write this chapter :3 thank you so much! Everyone go check out her stories 'cause she's awesome! XD xXx**_

_**P.P.S: The song was Broken Angel (Acoustic) by Boyce Avenue. I **__**do not**__** own this song, and I do not pretend to own this song; I am merely letting my Louis borrow it for the sake of my story xD Please can you guys listen to it because I really want you to hear what the song is like and understand why I decided to use it like this :3 thanks again to 1Dstyle for telling me about it! Love you, dude xD xXx**_


	24. The Morning After

_**Hello again! Sorry it's taken so long but I hope you all like this (veeeeeery long) chapter, and thank you for your response to the last one :3 I have decided how I'm going to end this fic, and as long as everything goes to plan there will be three more chapters after this one and then an epilogue (: enjoy xXx**_

* * *

><p><span>The Morning After<span>

"Jordan? Hey, JJ? OI!" Somebody grips my left shoulder tightly and gently shakes me. The motion causes waves of nausea to rise within me and I clamp my hand over my eyes, still refusing to open them. "Oi, lazy shit; wake up!"

"Fuck off." I mumble quietly. Chloe laughs and lets go of my shoulder and then I hear her walk away. I feel the bed indent slightly behind me and then I feel soft, warm lips press against my neck and the edge of my jaw. I know who it is… well, I _hope_ it's who I think it is… "Lou…"

"You need to get up, angel." Lou whispers, his mouth still pressed lightly against my neck. He drapes one arm over me and entwines his hand with mine, trapping me even though he just told me to get up. _Not that I mind…_ I smile as my eyelids flutter open and I take in my surroundings; I'm lying on mine and Louis' bed, still wearing my outfit from last night: a pair of black leggings and a Drop Dead "Brain Eater" dress. I'm lying on my side facing the doorway, so I see Harry when he walks past our room in just a pair of jogging bottoms. He looks at me and grins.

"She's alive!" He cries loudly and I hear laughter reverberating all around the gigantic flat. _How many people are still here?_

"Fuck off. All of you." I laugh sleepily and stick my tongue out at him. I hear Beth shout "leave her alone, Harry!" but he doesn't answer; he just keeps smirking and walks away. I lay back in the bed and Louis props himself up next to me.

"Come on, angel, we've got an interview at Hits Radio in a few hours and I'd really like you to be there, if you're not busy?" Louis smiles at me with his sparkly blue eyes.

"Yeah, of course. And are you going to keep doing that now?" I ask as I press a hand to my head, which is pounding. He looks at me and raises his eyebrows in question. "Calling me 'angel'."

"Oh." He looks slightly offended for a moment but when I smile at him reassuringly he raises his other hand and strokes my cheek lovingly. "Yeah, I will. Because you are my angel; my broken angel."

"Aww." I capture his hand with mine and entwine my fingers with his. He leans down and kisses me lightly; his soft, warm lips press against mine once and then trail across my jaw and collarbones. He kisses my lips again, deeper this time, and he releases my hand and traces light, teasing patterns on my thigh. I moan breathlessly as his hand starts to move higher…

"OI!" Somebody shouts and bangs on the door. "Get the fuck up!" Louis pulls away from me and glares at the closed door.

"Fuck off, Harry, you fucking cock-blocker." Louis yells, only to be greeted by laughter from various people, including me. Harry laughs louder and I hear his footsteps trail away as he walks down the hallway again.

"I guess we better get up then." I giggle. I sit up quickly and then almost fall down again because of the wave of nausea that rises through me. I groan and grip my head in my hands in an attempt to stop it pounding. "Fucking hell, so much for 'not having too much to drink'. What happened last night?" Even as I say it the memories bombard me, slow at first and then quicker and quicker until I am overwhelmed.

* * *

><p><em>Bright lights. Loud music. Laughing. Drinking. Dancing. Kissing. More drinking, more dancing, falling over, more laughter, more kissing, breathlessness pleasure pain friendship love; all melted into one by the power of alcohol.<em>

* * *

><p>"<em>Hey, look at me; I'm an Indian!" My very non-Indian friend from university, Beth, says to me with a sombrero on her head.<em>

* * *

><p>"<em>Chug. Chug. Chug. Chug." The crowd chants as Chloe and I each attempt to down a can of lager. Chloe wins.<em>

* * *

><p>"<em>I love you. Did you know that?" Harry whispers in my ear. But even though his eyes are shrouded in alcohol I know what he means. "Not the way I used to; not even the way I love Beth now. Because I do love her. I think I always did. I know that now." I just nod my head as he babbles; he does this when he's drunk. At least I know that, because of the alcohol, it's all true. "You're my best friend, and you always will be." He embraces me and I sigh gratefully; everything is falling into place.<em>

* * *

><p>"<em>Whoa, did not need to see that." I laugh as I stumble into the wrong room. A very naked Zayn and Liam jump apart and Zayn shouts at me to turn around. "Sorry! Haha…"<em>

* * *

><p>"<em>I love you!" Chloe laughs as she pulls me into a tight embrace and all of her feelings pour into me in that one hug; thanks for being there all those years, thanks for introducing her to Nialler, thanks for helping her deal with Jack and Seth, thanks for being her Twin…<em>

"_I love you too, Clo." I giggle._

* * *

><p>"<em>You have really beautiful eyes." Niall says randomly as we dance. I raise my eyebrows at him and he laughs. "I'm not coming on to you, I promise! I was just pointing it out, you know…?" I nod my head and pull him further into the middle of the dance floor whilst Louis and Chloe dance next to us.<em>

* * *

><p>"<em>You are so sexy and I love you so much." Louis whispers in my ear as he presses me against the wall and grinds his hips against mine. He kisses my jaw, my neck, my collarbone and then bites down gently, sucking and leaving a small mark in the hollow of my neck. "You're mine. Forever."<em>

* * *

><p>"Erm, I don't really remember much to be honest." Lou laughs, pulling me backwards onto his lap and wrapping his arms around my waist. He rests his head on my shoulder and whispers in my ear "I think we had too much to drink."<p>

"No shit, Sherlock." I laugh and turn to kiss his cheek. "C'mon, let's go." I jump up and as I glance at myself in the mirror I notice something. Louis gets up and notices it at the same time as me.

"What is that on your neck?" Louis asks incredulously.

"What does it look like, Lou?" I raise my eyebrows at him in the mirror and he glares at me. "Don't you remember doing it?" _I mean, come on; who else was it going to be?_

"Erm, no…" He looks at me, confused, and I turn and wrap my arms around his neck. His arms wrap around my waist and his eyes sparkle.

"You held me close." I whisper into his ear and press our bodies so close that not even a breath of air could come between us. "Kissed my neck." I mimic what he did. "And said: 'You're mine. Forever.'" I remove my lips from his neck and kiss his lips lightly.

"Oh yeah, I remember now." He says seductively and the look in his eyes tells me that he remembered the whole time and just wanted to see if _I _remembered correctly.

"Arsehole." I peck him on the lips lightly and then step out of his embrace. "Come on; we _really _have to get ready now."

* * *

><p>"Zayn stop looking at yourself in the bloody window and fucking pay attention!" Chloe yells across the limo, scaring the bejesus out of me. Everybody laughs and Zayn turns to glare at her. He's about to speak but is cut off by Paul, they boys' manager.<p>

"Okay guys; it's pretty scary out there so Harry, Louis and Niall keep hold of your girlfriends and Liam and Zayn… just… look after each other…" Paul trails off and everybody laughs. "Right, the security guards are making a path right now; just make your way through as fast as possible…"

"What about the fans?" Niall interrupts, looking slightly annoyed. "They've been waiting for ages, Paul…"

"I know, mate, but we're nearly late for the interview as it is." All of the boys frown at each other and start arguing with Paul. Beth and Chloe tactfully look away and remain silent but I, however, don't have enough common sense for that.

"Guys!" I say loudly. Everybody immediately goes silent and looks at me in surprise. _Too late to shut up now._ "Why don't you say to the fans that you're grateful for them coming out and that you'll try and make it out afterwards?" Paul looks at me disapprovingly but the rest of the boys nod. Louis smiles at me gratefully and squeezes my hand.

"Come on, Paul. Please?" Liam looks at Paul pleadingly and the rest of the boys copy him. Paul frowns for a moment and then begrudgingly agrees. He grabs a megaphone from underneath the seat, (I ask Louis why it's there and he just shrugs. _Best not to ask, I guess_.), and then opens the limo door. Instantly the air fills with screams and my stomach fills with butterflies. Louis squeezes my hand reassuringly and then slides gracefully out of the car, pulling me with him, and I'm overwhelmed. Sure, I've been to events with the boys before but I've never arrived _with them_ like this. It's so… surreal. Then I realise; they're chanting _my_ name as well! Louis tugs on my hand and pulls me through the crowd. We stop a few times so the boys can sign a few things, earning us all dirty looks from Paul and the rest of security, and then something strange happens; a fan asks for _my _autograph. My eyes widen in shock but when I look to my left I see that Chloe is signing almost as many CD cases and pieces of paper as Niall is. I smile at the teenage girl in front of me and sign her piece of paper, and then she proceeds to scream at her friend "oh my God, Jordan just gave me her autograph!" to which her friends scream back "oh my God!". I just watch them, completely bewildered, until Lou grabs my hand again and pulls me into the building. We wait for the boys and their girls to get through as well and then we have a slight moment to collect ourselves before the boys begin their interview.

"So, what was it like signing your first autograph?" Harry smiles whilst brushing his manic curls out of his eyes.

"Fucking weird." I mutter and everybody laughs. Then somebody opens the door in front of us and tells us all to walk inside. We're led into a little purple room with a big glass pane and a door at the end of it. On the other side of the glass pane is the booth where the boys will be doing their interview, and this little room is where Chloe, Beth, Paul and I will be waiting for them. We will be able to hear what they are saying but won't be able to talk to them, much like a recording booth. Louis kisses my lips lightly and then follows the rest of the boys into the booth whilst Chloe and Beth seat themselves on the comfy-looking purple chairs next to the pane of glass. I am content with standing and watching as the boys ready themselves for their interview. This is the first one Beth and I have been to (Chloe's been quite a few times before and is used to this, whereas I used to refuse to go because I was scared of the crowds) and I'm not sure what to expect. I'm distracted though as my mind is still processing the fact that the fans outside were chanting my name, Chloe's name and somehow Beth's name too (her and Harry haven't gone public yet but somehow the fans know; management suspects that we have a leak but they don't know who it is yet) and that they were excited to see me. I'm not famous. I'm not a singer, or a dancer, or anything important. I'm just a university student who happens to be in love with someone who is in a famous band. _What the hell…?_

"Okay we're live in three, two…" A little, middle-aged man holds up one finger and then cues the radio host in.

"Hello, if you have just joined us this fine Sunday afternoon you are listening to The Hits Radio with Chris Younie!" Chris smiles as he talks and I get the feeling that he really loves his job. "Here with me today I have a special treat for you guys; it's One Direction! Say hello, boys." All of the boys say hello into their mikes and Louis waves at me through the "window".

"Now, you guys are currently on a bit of a home vacation right now, aren't you?" Chris asks and the boys agree. "But you have a tour coming up in a few months, am I right?"

"Yeah, we're going all around the UK in February, March and April so we're having a bit of down time at the moment." Zayn says enthusiastically.

"Great, great. So, of course, you're home for Christmas; got any plans?"

"Nah, not really." Harry replies. "Just some quiet time with the family and friends."

"Good, good. Now, talking of "friends"," Chris winks, even though the intended audience won't see it. "Some have you have brought some very special friends with you today, am I right? So let's jump to it; are any of you single, and if not, who are you with?"

"Well, as you all know, I'm taken because Zayn and I are together." Liam says proudly.

"Yep, I'm taken. Obviously." Zayn chuckles and everybody laughs with him.

"I'm taken; my beautiful girlfriend Chloe is sat out there right now. Hi babe!" Niall says, also proudly, and waves at Chloe, who blushes.

"Aw, isn't that sweet. You two have been together... how long?" Chris asks.

"Ten months." Niall smiles.

"Aw. And we all know about you, Louis. Causing quite a storm with your lovely girl, who is an ex of Harry's, I believe?" Chris asks and Louis' magnificent eyes flash with anger for a second, as they do whenever somebody mentions mine and Harry's past in an interview.

"Yeah, but that's all in the past now." Louis says tightly and I flash my eyes at him in warning. He forces himself to relax but is still frowning slightly. "Jordan and I have been together for about five months now."

"That's great. You two are very cute together, and the fans seem to adore Jordan, as they do Chloe as well." All of the boys smile at this whilst Chloe and I blush. "Now, Harry, we are counting on you; you are the only one that's been single for a while. Has that changed?" Harry hesitates slightly and Beth gives him an encouraging smile.

"Yes, that has changed. I'm dating this amazing girl at the moment. I don't really want to say her name because she's not quite ready for it yet, but I didn't want to lie to the fans… again, so…" Harry trails off and I know we're all thinking the same thing; Caroline Flack. About the same time that Louis decided to go out with Eleanor (after they all left Holmes Chapel in March), Harry decided it would be a good idea to start dating Caroline, who is fifteen years older than him. Add this to the fact that he lied about it for at least two or three months and you get quite a lot of unhappy fans. I, of course, spent the whole time trying to convince myself that Harry was _not_ doing it to get back at me and that I _didn't_ care. Nor did I care about Eleanor. _Much…_

"Well, there you have it folks; every member of One Direction is taken! You hear that boys? That is the sound of millions of hearts breaking." Chris teases and the boys chuckle. "Now, Louis, let's come back to you and your girlfriend; there have been lots of stories circulating about things that have happened with Jordan and her dad, and how Harry and Liam ended up inn hospital. Would you like to clear the rumours up for me and your fans?" I can sense the tension in the room and I'm not even in it. Louis looks at me for help; we've discussed this a few times but never really come to a useful conclusion. I mouth something at him and he quickly asks Chris something, away from the mike.

"Right, ladies and gents, it seems we have a little surprise; Jordan is going to come out and speak to us herself." Chris nods at a girl who is standing by the door and she beckons me inside the booth. Paul shoots me a disapproving look but doesn't try and stop me. Within seconds I am sat on Louis' lap, sharing his mike with him and arguing with myself internally about whether or not this is actually a good idea.

"Hello, Jordan." Chris says warmly.

"Hi, Chris. Hi everyone." I say timidly into the mike and Louis squeezes my hand reassuringly.

"Now, if it's okay, could you please explain to us what happened?" Chris says eagerly, yet kindly. "The fans are desperate to know what really happened." There have been several rumours floating around but all that we had said publically was that it was personal, private matters and that we weren't ready to tell the fans yet. But we knew then, and we know now, that the fans won't give up until they know what really happened. Or _think_ they know what really happened.

"Erm… well, basically… uh…" I stammer. All of the boys reassure me silently and I mentally kick myself for being so stupid as to come out here in the first place. Chloe shoots me a sympathetic look and Beth puts her thumbs up reassuringly. "My dad and I have never gotten on because he was an alcoholic and… and used to beat me and my mum… Well, he was… uh, he was drunk and he… uh, he had a gun on him and the boys got caught up in the crossfire. It… Luckily the boys weren't harmed fatally… well, Liam got better and… but… uh…" I trail off, unsure of what to say. Paul glares at me slightly through the window and Liam jumps to my rescue.

"We haven't really discussed how we were going to tell the fans," Liam begins before Chris, or anybody else, can say anything. "And we're sorry that it's taken us so long to speak out but you have to understand that this is a very hard thing to talk about and that we have only just managed to get over it as a group. The main thing is that everybody…" Liam pauses and looks at me apologetically. "That Harry and I, and the rest of the group for that matter, are okay and that there is no danger anymore and…"

"Yeah, just to add to that," Niall interrupts. "We just wanna say that the fans have been really supportive and we love them so much for that. They sent flowers, gifts, tweets, letters… you name it, they tried it. We are so grateful for the support, but also the fact that most of them understood that we needed some space. You guys are seriously the best fans in the world."

"Yeah, thank you so much." Zayn says. He's sat next to me and Lou and he pats my hand reassuringly. "It really means a lot to us that the majority of you have been so nice and kind to Jordan, and to Chloe, and we really appreciate the support from you guys."

"We can't tell you how much it means to us." Louis says quietly. "To have such wonderful and accepting fans is just… this whole new lifestyle is still so strange to us, even after two years, and we're so thankful that our fans are so amazing, no matter where in the world they are or how long they've been with us."

"Yeah, what they said." Harry says lamely and everyone laughs. "No, really; you guys have been so supportive and we love you. We would be nowhere without you guys." The boys all murmur their agreement.

"Can I just add," I pipe up and everyone looks at me expectantly. "This is all so, so strange and weird to me, and I just wanna say thanks to all of you that have been so kind and welcoming to me, and to Chloe. We love the boys, just like you do, and we want them to succeed just as much as you do. So thank you." I nod to signal to Chris that I'm finished and Louis whispers "I'm so proud of you" into my ear.

"Well, thank you for that boys, and girl. Now, you guys have a new song, am I right?" Chris asks, tactfully changing the subject, and I look up at Lou. _New song? What new song? Wait… No…?_

"Yep; it's called Broken Angel." Louis says, his sea blue eyes not leaving mine.

"And you wrote it didn't you, Louis?"

"Essentially, yeah, but I had a lot of help from my boys." Louis strokes my cheek lovingly, his eyes still not leaving mine.

"It's not on Up All Night, as the fans will know." Niall pipes in. "But we're releasing it now as a single and it _may_ be on the new album as a bonus track… we haven't quite decided yet."

"Ah yes, the new album; what's happening with this?" Chris asks.

"Vas happenin' wiv dis, Loueh?" Zayn yells and everybody laughs.

"Thanks for that, dude." Louis chuckles and shakes his head. "We're going back to LA and Sweden to record it after the tour and it will hopefully be released at the end of next year or the beginning of 2014. I know it's a long time but we really want this album to be perfect."

"Yeah, we've had much more of an input on this one." Liam says. "Most of the songs are written by just us, but a few of them we've has help from others, but we're not giving away too much just yet! And we haven't even decided on the name of it yet, but like Louis said; we want it to be perfect, considering the first album did so well."

"Ah yes, you made history with that one; the first UK band to debut at number 1 on the US Billboard chart! Well, the new album certainly has a lot to live up to! Now we're going to play Broken Angel in a minute, which is released tomorrow, yes?" I look at Louis in shock; _how long have they been planning this? _Chris chuckles at my expression. "Okay, the listeners can't see this but Jordan is looking thoroughly confused right now; did you not know?"

"No, they only sang it for me last night. I had no idea what they had been planning." I smile at Louis and shake my head.

"Aww that's really sweet!" Chris grins and I blush. I turn and look at Chloe and Beth and they're both laughing at the rising colour in my cheeks. "The song is out tomorrow and there is a B-side, yes?"

"Yeah, you can buy it on iTunes or in shops tomorrow and there the original, an acoustic version and an acoustic version of More Than This because the fans seem to really love it." Harry lists. "It's more of an EP than just a single, really."

"Awesome. Right, well, here we go. Louis and Jordan, would you like to introduce this?"

"You do it, Jordan." Louis grins at me.

"Okay. This is Broken Angel by One Direction. Enjoy!" I say timidly. Chris hits play and then the little middle aged man appears again and signals to us that the mikes have been turned off. As soon as we step away from the mikes I turn and swat Louis on the arm.

"You bastard!" I cry at him and everybody laughs. "Why didn't you tell me you were planning this?"

"Because it was a surprise, silly." He laughs as he pulls me into a tight embrace.

"Thank you." I whisper as I bury my head in his shoulder.

"No, thank you. You were so brave, coming out here and telling everyone what happened. You don't have to tell them anything else." He whispers the last sentence into my ear and I sigh with relief. I pull away and peck him on the lips and then Chris gestures for the boys to sit down. I go to leave but Louis pulls me onto his lap again and wraps his arms around my waist.

"Welcome back, and if you have just tuned in I am joined here by One Direction." Chris says and all of the boys say hello into the mikes. "We are also joined by Louis' girlfriend, Jordan."

"Hi!" I say brightly and the boys chuckle.

"Okay, so we have just played their newest song, Broken Angel, which is available in shops and on iTunes from tomorrow! Now one of the B-sides is an acoustic version of your song, More Than This, am I right?"

"Yep, that's right." Zayn agrees.

"And you're going to perform that for us now, before you go, aren't you?"

"Yep." Harry says simply and I chuckle. Chris reads out a few tweets and the boys answer a few questions like "will you marry me" and "when are you coming to Poland?" whilst they boys' guitarist, Dan, comes in and sets up. The boys all stand up and are given two microphones to share between the five of them.

"Okay, would you boys like to introduce yourselves and the song, please?" Chris smiles.

"I'm Zayn."

"I'm Liam."

"I'm Niall."

"I'm Harry."

"And I'm Louis!"

"And we're One Direction!" They all say as if it's choreographed, but I know that it's not. Louis points at me and I smile.

"And this is More Than This. Enjoy!" I say into the mike that Louis and Harry are sharing. Louis slips his free hand into mine and as the boys sing I marvel at their perfect harmonies and the fact that I can call these five brilliant boys 'my friends'.

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><p><em><strong>Well, there you go! Sorry the chapter was so long but I found that once I'd started I couldn't stop! I know it seems like a bit of a filler (albeit a very long one) but I still think it's really important :) Please leave a review and tell me what you think! Love you guys xXx<strong>_


	25. Family Portrait

_**Hello 'der! I just wanna say; I love you guys. So much. All of the favourites and subscriptions always make me smile and the reviews never fail to brighten up my day, so thank you for taking the time to do them :3 Enjoy! xXx**_

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><p><span>Family Portrait<span>

**[JJ's POV]**

"Are you sure about this?" I ask Louis for the hundredth time as he puts our overnight bags in the car. He sighs heavily in response and walks over to where I'm stood, wishing I was still upstairs in our warm and cosy apartment instead of outside in the December-ice.

"Why are you so nervous? Of course I'm sure, you silly girl." Louis shakes his head in amusement and gathers my cold hands in his big warm ones. He rubs soothing patterns on my hands with his thumbs and scrutinises me with his crystal blues. "It's only my Mum and my sisters; it's not like I'm taking you to see the Queen!" I laugh with him but my body is still wracked with nerves.

"I know but I've never actually met them before! And we're staying the night!" I cry. Louis releases one of my hands and brushes my fringe out of my eyes.

"But you've talked to Mum on the phone _and_ on Twitter! And you've tweeted Lottie too! She adores you, by the way, and she can't wait to meet you in person; they all can't. And we're gonna be staying in my old room; you get to see where I grew up!" He smiles brightly and it's infectious; I can feel the corners of my mouth pulling up unwillingly. "I can see you smiling, angel! Look; my family are really important to me and _you're_ my family too now." He blushes lightly and I reach up and kiss him softly.

"You're such a cutie." I smile and he blushes again.

"C'mon we're gonna be late for dinner if we don't leave now; Mum's doing a roast!" He grins wickedly, eyes sparkling with delight and humour, and pulls me gently towards the car. I sigh in defeat and allow myself to be pulled.

"Okay but if she doesn't like me I'll…"

"She already loves you, JJ. Now stop protesting and…"

"NO JIMMY PROTESTED!" I shout at the top of my voice. Louis is shocked for a second and then bursts into laughter. I laugh with him and he drops my hands and clutches at his stomach, gasping for air as he laughs at my randomness.

"Only you." He laughs as he tries to catch his breath. "Of all the things to say…"

"Hey, it was necessary, okay! I can remember watching you sat on the stairs with that Ben Elton book…" I grin and he shakes his head at the memories.

"That's just another example of how weird I was. Well, _am_. Now stop stalling and get in that bloody car!" Louis shakes his head and smiles again. I glare at him and he leans in and kisses my forehead. "And don't frown; you'll get wrinkles." He smirks, pats my arse gently and then climbs back into the car.

"Arsehole." I mutter under my breath. I slide into the passenger seat and Lou leans over and presses his lips to mine in a soft and lingering kiss.

"Everything's going to be fine, angel." He smiles brightly and then turns back to the road and sets off on the two and half hour journey to his hometown of Doncaster.

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><p><strong>[Zayn's POV]<strong>

"Are they gone now?" Liam whispers. I turn to look at him and he squirms under the scrutiny of my gaze. "What?"

"Is it really necessary to whisper, Liam?" I ask at normal level and he blushes.

"Yes it is." He whispers back stubbornly. I raise my eyebrows and he sighs. "Shut up. Now are they gone or not?" I turn back to the window and smile when I see Louis' new, sleek, dark red Porsche leaving the car park.

"Yes, they are gone; now let's go to Niall's." I jump up out of the chair that I'm sat in and look around my- _our_- apartment for my keys. "Li, have you seen my keys?" Liam turns around and reaches over the back of the sofa and grabs them off of the table. Before he can turn around I climb onto the sofa behind him and wrap my arms around his waist.

"Well hello there." Liam chuckles. He drops the keys next to us on the sofa and places his hands on top of mine, which are clasped together and resting on his stomach.

"Sorry for being bitchy." I sigh and kiss his neck gently.

"You weren't, Z; I was being weird." Liam chuckles again and I rest my head on his shoulder. We both gaze aimlessly out of the window and my breath tickles his neck. "It's just… I really want Lou's birthday party to be special, and that means he can't find out and… So I wanted to whisper, okay?"

"Then yes, you were being weird." I laugh and Liam huffs. "I'm kidding. We all want tomorrow to be perfect, Liam, especially after all the shit that they've had recently; Lou's spent the last few months torn between the band and looking after JJ…"

"Exactly!" Liam pushes me lightly and I let go of him and get off of the sofa. He stands in front of me and wraps his arms around my waist. "They both need a break, and this party is just what they need. I know we had the one a few weeks ago, but with the song and everything… Plus they both planned it. This one's a surprise!" Liam's face glows with excitement and anticipation and I can't help smiling at him.

"You're so adorable, d'you know that?" I say abruptly, sliding my hands up his chest and resting them on his broad shoulders, and he blushes. I lean my forehead against his and watch as the excitement bubbles in his chocolate eyes. "The party is going to be perfect, and do you know why; because _you're_ planning it." I press my lips against his lightly and I feel him smile into the kiss.

"You're so cheesy." He giggles femininely and then covers it with a deeper laugh. I chuckle but I choose to ignore it.

"You love it really." I wink and his hands slide down to my arse.

"I do." He nods his head and the atmosphere becomes more heated. "I love you, Z."

"I love you too, Liam." I whisper back and his eyes glow with affection. I lean in and kiss him harder this time, conveying all of my feelings in that one kiss.

* * *

><p><strong>[Nialler's POV]<strong>

"Nialler, can you put this on top of the tree please?" Chloe asks, handing me a little yellow star. We're stood in the front room of the flat, placing the finishing touches on our Christmas tree. Chloe has made extra effort with the decorations because the group Christmas is going to be at our flat this year. The group of us all decided that we were going to alternate parties etc. between all of us, and that seeing as the party a few weeks ago, and Lou's birthday party (which neither him nor Jordan know about) are at Harry and Lou's flat, somebody else should host it. Zayn's flat is still full of boxes of Liam's stuff, as the younger boy moved in there a few weeks ago and hasn't had time to unpack, so it's been left to us.

"Sure, but what makes you think I'm going to be able to reach either?" I laugh. I'm only a few centimetres taller than her and the tree reaches almost up to the roof. That may not sound a lot, considering we're only in a flat, but these are very expensive flats; they're more like houses piled on top of each other. I take the little star off of her anyway and reach up, just about placing it on top of the simply-decorated tree without knocking the whole thing over.

"Thank you." She kisses me lightly on the cheek and then disappears off into the kitchen, leaving me to clear up the left over decorations and put them back into the cupboard. I do the task quickly and I'm just about finished when I hear Chloe yelp in pain and then something smashes loudly on the floor.

"Everything okay, babe?" I call out to her. She doesn't answer so I run in to the kitchen and find her leaning against the counter, clutching her right hand. I quickly run over to her and wrap my hands around hers. "What happened, Clo? What is it?"

"I'm okay." She says through gritted teeth. "Emptying dishwasher. Reaching for the plate. Caught my finger on a knife. Hurts. A lot."

"Okay, let me see." The tone of my voice commands no arguments and she moves her left hand away and extends her right. I see straight away that it's actually not a very big cut but it's quite deep and it's right on the end of her little finger. "How the hell did you manage to do that?" I grab some tissue and wrap it around her finger to stem the blood that's slowly leaking from it. I hold the tissue on with one hand and raise my eyebrow.

"I told you; I was reaching for a plate at the back of the dishwasher and caught my finger on a knife." Her voice wavers slightly with pain and I use my free hand to stroke her cheek reassuringly.

"Okay; it's not very big, so we can…" I'm interrupted by a knock at the door. "Who is it?"

"It's us." Liam's voice is muffled by the door but I can still tell who it is.

"Come in! We're in the kitchen so just wait in the lounge a minute." Liam replies with 'okay' and then I hear the door open and close. I turn back to Chloe and see that the pain is ebbing from her features. "As I was saying; it's not a particularly big cut, so we can just put a plaster on it, yeah? Unless you want stitches?"

"No, no, I'll be fine." She waves her free hand nonchalantly and I grab the first-aid from on top of the cupboard. I clean the small cut and then carefully place a plaster over it. Then I put the first-aid kit away and she bends down and picks up the plate that she dropped. I gently pull her out of the way and pick up all of the little pieces so that she doesn't cut herself. "Thank you, Nialler."

"No problem." I tip the rest of the pieces into the bin and then pull her into my arms. "Next time take the cutlery out before you reach to the back, yeah?"

"Yeah." She chuckles. I lean down and kiss her lightly and then take her undamaged hand mine.

"C'mon; Liam and Zayn are waiting." I gently pull her into the lounge where Liam and Zayn are sat together on the sofa. I collapse into a chair and pull Chloe down with me. She curls up on my lap and rests her head on my shoulder and I softly run my hand through her newly dyed, jet-black hair.

"What were you doing in there?" Zayn raises his eyebrow and Liam laughs quietly.

"Leave them alone, Z!" Liam softly hits Zayn in the stomach and the older boy just laughs.

"It wasn't what you think; Chloe cut herself by accident and I was helping her." I shrug and Chloe holds her plastered finger up as evidence. Liam gives Zayn a look as if to say 'I told you so' and Zayn just shrugs.

"Okay guys; Louis and JJ will be back at about midday tomorrow, so we have less than twenty four hours to plan this party." Liam says gleefully, moving out of Zayn's embrace and leaning forwards with enthusiasm. "Oh yeah; where's Harry?" …

* * *

><p><strong>[Harry's POV]<strong>

I rap my knuckles on the door twice and then step back slightly, waiting for an answer. The door swings open almost instantly and I am greeted by the smiling face of my beautiful girlfriend.

"Surprise!" I cry loudly and she laughs.

"Harry? What are you doing here?" She grins. I open my arms and she runs into them, throwing her arms around my neck and pulling me into a tight embrace. I wrap my arms around her waist and hold her close.

"I came to surprise you, duh." I chuckle and she laughs. She steps back slightly but neither of us let go. "I wanted to give you your Christmas present now rather than on New Year's."

"Aww, how sweet! Come in!" She pulls me into the house that she's sharing with her three uni friends and then leads me straight to her tiny bedroom. I take my shoes and jacket off and make myself comfortable on the bed as she rummages around in her wardrobe. Finally she pulls out a big Thornton's bag and then climbs onto the bed next to me. She pulls a small box out of it and hands it to me and I place it on her bed side table, next to a picture of us at the park a few weeks ago. I pull her down onto the bed beside me and wrap my arms around her. She leans her head on my chest and sighs contently.

"I missed you." I whisper into the comfortable silence and she sighs softly.

"I miss you too, Harry." She whispers back.

"Why can't you come to ours for Christmas?" I ask stubbornly, even though I know the answer.

"You know why, Harry. I _need_ to spend this Christmas with my Mum. I haven't seen her in so long, especially after… after my sister…" She trails off and the word hangs in the air like a bad smell; _died._

"I know, sweetie. Of course you do. I'll Skype you though. We all will."

"Thank you." She whispers. I lace my left hand with hers and run my right one through her blood red hair as we lay in comfortable silence. It lasts for a few moments more until her curiosity and excitement get the better of her. "Can I open my present now please?"

"Sure." I chuckle. She sits up, pulling me with her, and then holds out her hands. I place a small red box with a big black bow on the top in her hands and then reach over and grab my present. "Let's open them together, yeah?" She nods and we both tear into our presents like eager children. I finish first and smile when I see the present inside; Bleu de Chanel aftershave. _My favourite. How did she… JJ must have told her. _Beth opens the little box and gasps when she sees what's inside.

"You promised you wouldn't spend too much money, Harry." She sighs as she gazes at the jewellery inside.

"You didn't specify what was too much. And I didn't spend loads, I promise." I place my bottle of aftershave back on the table and take the small box out of her hands. Inside it lays a simple silver necklace with a heart hanging off of it, and in the centre of the heart is a tiny ruby.

"It's beautiful." She sighs. I gesture for her to turn around and when she does I take the necklace out of the box.

"Hold your hair out of the way." I murmur. She obeys and I carefully place the necklace around her neck. I do the clasp up and then place a soft kiss on her neck. She turns back around and sits next to me on the bed again.

"Thank you." She whispers, her icy blues full of gratitude and adoration, and I nod slowly.

"I love you, Beth." I whisper the words that I've never said to her before, the words that hold more sincerity than anything I have ever said and ever will again.

"I love you." She whispers back, and when she connects her soft lips with mine it's like everything in the world has fallen into place.

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><p><strong>[Louis' POV]<strong>

"That was delicious Mum, thank you." I place my knife and fork onto my plate and then lean across and place a kiss on her cheek.

"Thank you, dear. What did you think, Jordan?" Mum turns to JJ, who blushes lightly.

"It was amazing. Thank you, Mrs Tomlinson." She wipes her mouth delicately with a napkin and I supress a laugh; she's never this well-mannered at home!

"How many times have I told you, darling; call me Jay." Mum smiles as she starts collecting all of our plates. I gently swat her hands away and collect them myself.

"Lottie, can you help me please?" I ask my younger sister. She sighs and stands up but Jordan grabs her hand and gently pulls her back down.

"It's okay sweetie, I'll help your brother." JJ collects the rest of the plates and follows me into the kitchen. She places the plates onto the counter and then turns to me, nerves evident on her face.

"Are you _still_ nervous, angel? They love you!" I laugh and she shushes me. I shake my head and pull her into my arms. She rests her head on my shoulder and exhales loudly.

"I know. I'm just being silly." She laughs lightly. "You smell really nice, by the way."

"Thanks; it's the aftershave that Lottie bought me." I smile in fondness for the eldest of my younger siblings.

"Well it's really nice!" She giggles. I press a kiss to her forehead and then start to load the dishwasher with all of the dirty plates and cutlery. Daisy and Phoebe help Felicity clear the table and Lottie makes sure that my Mum doesn't do _anything_ because she's been cooking all day. When we're finished I grab some ice-cream out of the freezer and serve it up for my sisters and then serve some strawberry cheesecake for Mum, JJ and I. We all sit in the family room, eating and watching television, and then it gets to Daisy and Phoebe's bed time.

"Can you take us to bed, Lou?" Daisy asks me, her little voice heavy with tiredness.

"Aren't you a little old for that, Daisy?" I tease her and she shakes her head.

"No. Pleeeeeeease!" She gives me her puppy dog eyes and I chuckle.

"Okay. Go and say good night to Mum and your other sisters then." Both of the little girls hug Felicity, Lottie and Mum and then come back to stand in front of me.

"Can you come too?" Phoebe asks Jordan. She turns to me in question and I smile brightly.

"Of course I will sweetie. Let's go." She makes her way towards the stairs and stops when she realises that the girls aren't following her. Daisy jumps into my arms even though, at eight, she's getting a little old for it. Phoebe holds her arms out to Jordan and without a moment's hesitation; my girlfriend leans down and gathers my youngest sister into her arms. She slowly makes her way upstairs, chatting to Phoebe the whole time, and I can't keep the smile off of my lips. I turn to look at my Mum who is watching JJ and Phoebe with fascination and awe in her eyes. Phoebe has never taken to any of my girlfriends like this, not even Eleanor; it was always Daisy that made conversation whilst Phoebe just stuck with Mum. I can't help admiring the fact that Jordan has been here for less than four hours and she's already part of my family.

"Hurry up, Lou!" Daisy tugs on my hair impatiently and I carry her up the stairs and into her room where Jordan is already tucking Phoebe into bed. I tuck Daisy into her bed as well and entwine my hand with Jordan's.

"Night girls." I kiss each of their foreheads and, to my surprise, Jordan does the same.

"You'll say goodbye before you go tomorrow, won't you?" Phoebe asks us both.

"Of course we will." Jordan answers for the both of us. Phoebe and Daisy smile, content with that answer, and then close their eyes in an attempt to get to sleep. Jordan and I tiptoe out of the room and gently close the door behind us. I pull her into my old bedroom and we both collapse onto the bed.

"Your sisters are so adorable!" JJ sighs quietly and I laugh.

"I can't believe they like you so much! No offense, I just meant that they're not usually that trust worthy when I bring girlfriends home. They must really like you!" I kiss her on the forehead and she giggles.

"All of your family do. I'm so glad." She sighs happily and squeezes my hand.

"So am I. You're part of the family now, JJ." I tilt her chin up and kiss her deeply. _Part of the family; _those four words couldn't make me happier, and I can see that she feels exactly the same. _Everything is falling into place._

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><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading! Bit of fluff, really, but I hope you like it :3 please review and tell me what you think! Love you guys xXx<strong>_


	26. Happy Birthday To Lou

**_Hello there! Thank you so much for your response to the last chapter; the support I've had for this story is overwhelming and I love every single one of you! This is the second-to-last chapter, and then there will be an epilogue. I have planned how everything's gonna be but I think I might change it to make it more interesting, so review and tell me what you think; happy, sickly-sweet ending or mean twist? Enjoy! xXx_**

**_p.s longest chapter I've ever written; it's over 5,300 words… That's about 2,000 words more than my oneshot. Oops. I just couldn't stop… Anyway… enjoy! :D xXx_******

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><p><span>Happy Birthday to Lou<span>

**_BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP. BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP. BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP…_**

I repeatedly slam my hand down on the source of the noise, trying to find the snooze button without having to open my eyes, and eventually it shuts up. I groan and roll over on to my side and then feel someone's soft lips on my neck. I gradually open one eye and am met by Louis' smile (which is entirely too cheerful for this time in the morning!).

"Morning sexy." He grins and I groan again. I turn back onto my front and bury my face in my pillow.

"It's too earlyyyyyyy…" I moan and he chuckles. He kisses my neck again, finding my most sensitive spot, and I laugh and shrug him off. I roll back over and prop myself up onto my elbow. He's still grinning and I roll my eyes; _he's such a child sometimes_. "Happy birthday, Lou." I lean over and press my lips to his.

"Mmmhh, thank you." He murmurs, his lips still pressed against mine, and kisses me deeper. I tug on his bottom lip playfully and when I pull away he smiles. "I can't believe I'm 21."

"I know… that's three whole years older than me." I grin. "You're practically ancient."

"Liar!" He laughs, tickling my side. "Your birthday is in February therefore I am actually just over two years older than you." He continues tickling me and I laugh loudly.

"Get. Off!" I push him away and he gives up. "We'll wake your family up!"

"No we won't; they're all already awake and downstairs." He smiles with a wicked glint in his smoky eyes and then winks at me.

"I know that look…" I glare at him and whisper furiously "Lou! I am not having sex with you in your old bed, in your family home, while said family is only downstairs!"

"C'mon, angel, they won't hear I promise!" He whispers back seductively and runs his hand up and down my thigh. I shake my head and smile at him. I'm just about to say something when he puts a finger to my lips and we hear footsteps outside Lou's room.

"Lou? Are you awake?" Daisy asks, knocking on the door quietly. "Mum says you have to get up and shower now otherwise you won't have time for breakfast."

"Okay, tell her we'll be down in a bit." He sighs and I laugh quietly. I hear her footsteps gradually fade away and then I jump out of bed. He follows me and grabs his towel.

"Bagsy having the shower first!" He laughs and runs towards the en suite. I shake my head and don't even bother saying anything. I wait until I can hear the shower running and then grab my stuff and follow him into the bathroom, making sure I slip a very important, small silver packet into my pocket. I stick my head around the door to check that he's actually in the shower and then quietly step inside the bathroom and lock the door behind me. He doesn't hear me; he's too busy singing _his own song._

"I wanna stay up all night and do it all with you. Up all night like this, all night, yeah…" He sings loudly, completely oblivious as I pull my shorts and t-shirt off and then grab the small packet out of the pocket. Then I quietly pad over to the shower and pull back the curtain.

"I said no to the bed." I say as I step into the shower, ignoring his shocked expression. "I said nothing about the shower."

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Louis laughs, grabbing the small packet out of my hands and pulling me underneath the water with him.

* * *

><p>"Louis, mum says do you want pancakes?" Felicity shouts up to us. I turn from my position in front of the mirror and relay the message to Louis, who is styling his hair in the bathroom.<p>

"Yes please!" I call back after Louis gives me an answer. I put the finishing touches on my make-up and then bend down and put my toiletries back into my overnight back. I squeal as Louis places his hands on my hips and pulls me back towards him. He bends over me and kisses my neck lightly.

"Best birthday present ever." He whispers and I giggle when his warm breath tickles my ear.

"It was alright, I guess." I giggle again, pushing him away from me. He slaps my arse and I turn and swat him on the arm. He raises his eyebrow and I realise what he's going to do a split second before he does it but I'm too late; he grabs me by the waist, pushes me down on to the bed and straddles me and then tickles me mercilessly. I laugh breathlessly and try to push him off but he's relentless.

"Was that, or was it not, _thee_ best sex you've ever had?" He whispers into my ear and I grab his shoulders and try and push him off.

"No. Now get off!" I laugh and he nips me playfully on the shoulder. I grab his wrists and try to pull his hands away but it's no use; he's _waaaaaay_ stronger than me.

"Admit it, Jordan, or I'm not getting off of you."

"NEVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!"

"Say it Jordan; say "Louis Tomlinson is a sex God and that was the best shower-sex I've ever had." Say it." He laughs and carries on tickling me and I'm thankful that everybody is downstairs and (hopefully!) can't hear us. I try to kick him off but it's no use.

"Okay, okay." I say in between giggles. "Louis Tomlinson is a sex God and that was the best shower-sex I've ever had."

"Good girl." He stops tickling me and kisses my neck lightly.

"Louis, hurry up and get your bum down here now! And you, Jordan!" Jay shouts up the stairs and Louis laughs.

"Okay, Mum, we're just packing our stuff." He calls back and we hear her stifle a laugh,

"Sure you are. Just hurry up!" We hear the door slam shut and then Louis collapses on me, laughing loudly.

"Did your mum just insinuate that we were having sex?" I gasp and he looks up at me through his lashes and grins wickedly.

"I think she did. She's not far off, either." He shakes his head and jumps off of me. I hold out my hands and he grabs them and gently tugs me off of the bed. "C'mon." He keeps one of his hands linked with mine and grabs our bag with the other. He walks out of room, tugging me with him, and leads me downstairs. He then dumps the bag next to the front door, kisses my lips lightly and then pulls me into the kitchen.

"Morning, Mum." He drags me over to where Jay is stood making breakfast and kisses her on the cheek.

"Happy Birthday, Boo Bear. Did you sleep well?" She asks with a hint of humour on her voice and I blush.

"Yes, thank you." He replies politely, feigning innocence, and I giggle quietly. I drop his hand and walk over to the dining room table. Phoebe gestures for me to sit in the empty seat next to her, so I do.

"Morning sweetie." I smile and she smiles back. I don't know what it is but something about Phoebe makes me want to smile all the time. She emits the same contagious cheerfulness that her older brother does and it's so adorable.

"Morning!" She grins. She runs over to Louis, wraps her arms around him and wishes him Happy Birthday. Then she sits back in her sit next to me and says "Mum's making us pancakes!"

"I can see! What are you having on them?" I do my best to make conversation without sounding patronising; she's eight, not four.

"Golden syrup. What are you gonna have?" She asks me sweetly. Daisy comes into the room and heads straight for her brother, who is having a conversation with Jay. When she's said "Happy Birthday Lou Lou" she runs over and sits in the empty seat on my right, meaning that Louis will have to sit opposite me.

"I usually have lemon and sugar, but syrup sounds nice! What about you, Daisy?" I turn to look at Daisy, who is sat next to me looking slightly down.

"Syrup; same as Phoebe." She smiles, obviously grateful that I'm paying them both attention and not just Phoebe.

"We drew a picture of you." Phoebe grins and jumps up out of her chair. She takes Daisy's hand in hers and tugs her towards the doorway. "We'll go and get it!" I nod and watch fondly as they run out of the room. I've always wanted little sisters but considering how my family turned out, I'm quite glad that I'm an only child. I look up and realise that Louis and Jay are watching me.

"What?" I ask and they just shake their heads in unison. Louis sits in the seat that Daisy just vacated and places a plate of syrup-drenched pancakes in between us.

"We're gonna have to hurry if we wanna be back by midday." He smiles and hands me a fork. The twins run back into the room and hand me a piece of paper; it's a picture of me and Lou in front of his new Porsche.

"Wow, thank you girls." I smile. I turn it around and it says on the back "we like you more than smelly Eleanor!" I turn to the girls and they both start laughing.

"It's true!" Phoebe says solemnly. "Eleanor was a meanie and never bothered to talk to us; only when there were cameras around." A tense silence descends on the family breakfast.

"She's terribly observant for an eight year old." Jay says with a hint of pride in her voice and Louis shifts uncomfortably in his seat. I notice that the family didn't actually like Eleanor as much as it seemed, and I'm surprised by how happy that makes me. Well, not happy but…

"Are you listening, angel?" Louis waves his hand in front of my eyes and I jump.

"Sorry, I zoned out." I shake my head and he smiles. He leans in and presses a chaste kiss on my lips and I notice that Jay and all of Louis' sisters (the ones that are present, anyway; Lottie is still in bed!) are watching us with identical smiles on their faces. I blush delicately and Jay winks knowingly at me. Louis offers me the fork with a piece of pancake on the end but when I try to take the fork off of him he shakes his head and smiles. I roll my eyes and decide to play along; I open my mouth slightly, allowing him to feed me the pancakes. We take it in turns to feed each other whilst keeping up conversation with Jay and the rest of the girls. Just as we're finishing our breakfast Lottie walks into the room with a card in her hand. She walks over to Louis and wraps her arms around him.

"Happy Birthday! Can we give you our presents now?" She asks quietly. He tightens his arms around her and smiles.

"You gave me yours yesterday!" He laughs and she blushes.

"Yeah, well… I wanted to give it to you early, okay?" She grins and he chuckles.

"Of course you can." Louis says to the rest of the girls and they all leave the room. Jay starts to clear the table and I get up to help her.

"You don't have to help, honey." She says warmly and I shake my head.

"Don't be silly, of course I do." I pick up the remaining plates and help her load them into the dishwasher. "Thank you for letting me stay last night. I really appreciate you all welcoming me so nicely."

"Nonsense." She smiles brightly and squeezes my hand. "You're welcome here just as much as Lou is. You make him happy and I'm glad. And you're so nice to the girls… You don't have to bother, you know."

"Of course I do!" I reply and from the smile in her eyes I realise that she was trying to get a reaction out of me. "There's no way that I could come here and not make an effort with the girls. Plus they're so adorable and… I don't have any siblings, so I'm quite happy to steal Louis'." I wink and she smiles. Louis comes up behind me and slides his hands around my waist.

"If you two are going to talk about me you could at least wait until I'm out of the room." He smiles and Jay laughs.

"I'm your mum; it's my job to discuss you with your gorgeous girlfriend." She smiles and I blush at the compliment. "Oh that reminds me, Jordan; I have some photos of when Lou was younger if…"

"NO!" Louis cries, making us all laugh.

"No Jimmy protested…" I whisper and he laughs, remembering my random outburst yesterday.

"I would love to, Jay." I giggle and I find myself thinking; _why the hell was I so nervous yesterday?_

"Lou Lou, come and open your presents!" Daisy says, bounding into the room with so much excitement that it oddly reminds me of Niall. Phoebe and Felicity follow her in and they all sit around the table. I quickly dash out of the room and grab Louis' present out of my bag and when I come back into the room there aren't any seats left. Louis pulls me onto his lap and I smile; _I'm more comfortable here anyway… _Phoebe sits in the chair closest to me and slips her hand into mine. I smile down at her and for the first time in a long time I start to feel like part of a family again.

* * *

><p><strong>[Louis' POV]<strong>

"Aww look, this one says 'Happy Birthday Louis! Hope you have a great day xx'. That's sweet." JJ scrolls through all of the birthday messages in my mentions on Twitter and reads out a few more. She's been doing this for the past hour or so to pass the time. I always smile or laugh and if one stands out then I'll tell her how to reply to it, giving her exactly what to say right down to the amount of kisses to put on the end. _It's still me replying, right?_

"Yeah that is sweet. Can you tweet saying "Thank you for all the birthday messages. Sorry I can't reply to all of them but there's too many. Love you guys." I ask her as we pull off of the motorway.

"Sure, sweetie. How many kisses?" She asks as she types the tweet on my phone. Then she groans in frustration. "Ugh, for fuck's sake Lou; your Twitter app died again."

"Sorry angel, you'll just have to try again. It's kinda broken…" I chuckle and she sighs.

"No, Louis; it's fucked." She scoffs and tries again. I focus on the road and smile when she sighs in relief.

"Three." I say suddenly and it takes her a while to realise I mean "put three kisses on the end of the tweet."

"Okay." She does as I say and then locks my phone and drops it in her lap. I slip my free hand into hers (_thank God for automatic cars_) as she stares out of the window at the bustling streets and busy people. She quickly gets bored though and starts scrolling through my endless mentions again. It's times like this when I don't mind that she has my twitter password. There are other times, however, that I do; for example when her and Chloe get bored and decide to hack me and send stupid tweets to everybody.

"Christ, you have a tweet from Cheryl Cole." She says with surprise. She shouldn't be surprised really; she _was_ one of the judges on X Factor so we _do _know her. _Albeit not as well as we hoped, but…_ "It says 'Happy Birthday Louis is trending worldwide. I take it that's Louis_Tomlinson? Haha, happy birthday babe.' She called you babe?" She frowns and I laugh.

"Ooh, someone's jealous." I chuckle and she hits me on the arm. "Ow!"

"Shut up. Oh, you have some tweets from the boys. Harry says "Happy Birthday Louis_Tomlinson. See you in a bit babycakes x." Twat. Zayn says "Happy birthday to my bro Louis_Tomlinson. Love you man." Awww. Liam says "happy birthday Louis_Tomlinson hope yu have a gd day c yu later." Wow, he really needs some English lessons. Sweet though. And Nialler says "Happy Birthday to my buddy Louis_Tomlinson! Hope you and JJ are having fun on the road haha! See you in a bit!" Aww, aren't they nice? OH wait, one from Chloe too, it says "Happy Birthday to my Twin's annoying boyfriend Louis_Tomlinson. One year older and still just as immature. Jokes, love you Louis!" Haha, what a knobhead! Love her though." She squeezes my hand and I smile. I'm really sick of driving and I can't wait to get back so I can't help but grin when I notice the apartments' car park. I turn into it and JJ sighs. "Ugh, thank fuck for that. Home sweet home!" I park the car quickly and then shut the engine off, sighing in relief. I love my family, I really do, and I've had a great time but I _really_ hate the drive up there. It's so long and boring. Jordan pulls her long blond hair out of the bun that it was in and I can't help reaching over and running my hand though the soft waves. She sighs delicately and I pull away.

"Come on angel, let's get inside, yeah?" I squeeze her shoulder lightly and then jump out of the car. She slides gracefully out of the car and shuts the door behind her. A sudden wave of home-sickness washes over me and I lean back against the car for support. This always happens when I get back from visiting my family; I only ever realise how much I miss them when I've just seen them. Jordan looks over at me with understanding and sympathy in her emerald eyes. She walks over to me and stands in between my legs, placing her hands on the car door either side of my waist. I place my hands on her hips and sigh.

"It's okay, Lou. We'll Skype them tomorrow and you can watch them open their presents, okay?" She smiles, knowing exactly what to say to cheer me up, and a wave of gratitude washes over me. I hate the way that we ended up together but in some sick, twisted way; everything happens for a reason.

"Yeah, I know; I just miss them." I sigh, dropping my eyes to the ground, and she rests her head on my shoulder.

"I know sweetie." She sighs and I suddenly feel guilty; here I am, moaning about missing my family when she can't ever see hers again. I start to speak but she reaches up and presses her soft lips to mine. "Shhh. Come on, let's go inside; I'm freezing." She kisses me one last time before stepping out of my hold and entwining her hand with mine. We get the bag out of the car, unwilling to release our grip on the other's hand, and then I lock the car, pick up the bag and lead her up to the apartment. We stop outside the familiar red door and she drops my hand so she can fish her keys out of her handbag. Just before she opens the door I drop the bag on the floor and pull her against me.

"Thank you for going to see my family with me." I say and she smiles. "I love you."

"I love you too." She blushes lightly and leans towards me. I close the distance between us and press my lips against hers. She pulls away, tugs my bottom lip suggestively and then smirks slightly. "Shall we continue this in there?" She gestures to the apartment and I nod. As she pushes the door open I pick up the bag and then…

"SURPRISE!" A chorus of voices ring out from inside the apartment and we both jump. Liam grabs JJ's hand and pulls her out of the way as the rest of the boys pull me into the room. At some point the bag is pulled out of my hand but I barely notice; I'm overwhelmed as various people pull me into a hug and shout "Happy Birthday!" in my ear. When I'm finally released I take a step back and grin brightly. I look all around the apartment; it's set up like the party we had at the beginning of the month except there is banners that say "Happy Birthday" taped to nearly every wall in the whole apartment and the whole place is littered with balloons of various colours, all with the number "21" on them. There are loads of people here; too many for me to recognise faces just yet.

"Wow, guys. Thank you." I smile gratefully and everybody cheers. Somebody turns the music on whilst Niall thrusts a can of beer into my hand. I look over my shoulder trying to find JJ and see her deep in conversation with Liam, presumably about how the hell they planned all of this without us realising. I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn to my left.

"Stan!" I cry and he laughs.

"Happy birthday, mate." Stan pulls me into a tight hug and I grin.

"Thank you! It's great to see you, man!" I say with excitement. He nods and then gestures for me to look behind me. I do and I'm stunned by who I find there.

"Hannah?" I look into her familiar brown eyes and memories of walks in the park and promises of love wash over me. Judging by the flash in her I eyes I guess she's experiencing the same thing. I spot JJ over Hannah's shoulder and she gives me a thumbs up and mouths "well hug her then!" I look back at Hannah and see that's she's smiling nervously, and the fact that 99% of the room are watching us really isn't helping. Suddenly she half-sobs, half-sighs and I feel my heart break a little. _I caused that…_

"Friends?" She asks and holds out her arms. I haven't spoken to her for months and I haven't seen her since we broke up but I know the answer straight away.

"Best friends." I smile and pull her into my arms. She sobs heavily and wraps her arms around my waist. I wrap my arms around her neck and cradle her in my arms, stroking her hair and whispering "I'm sorry Hannah Banana. I'm so sorry" in her ear. The sounds of people clapping reaches my ears but I don't take any notice; all that matters is the fact that I've got my best friend back. I look over at JJ and see that there is no jealousy what so ever in her sea green eyes; she understands that Hannah will only ever be my friend and I'm so grateful for that. Hannah sobs even harder and tightens her hold on my waist and I kiss her hair; having her back is one of the best birthday presents I could ever have.

* * *

><p>"Come oooooooon. Pleeeeeeeeeease?" Harry begs me and when I look over at the other people that are left (Chloe, Niall, JJ, Liam and Zayn) I see them giving me similar pleading eyes.<p>

"Fine, let's bloody play Never Have I Ever. But I am not dealing with the person who gets pissy when somebody admits to something they don't like, okay?" I sigh, grabbing my fourth beer and trying not to let my intoxication take over. Nobody is really that drunk; we all thought the party would be more fun if we could actually remember it tomorrow. Plus we're all going to take our presents etc. and stay the night on airbeds in Chloe and Niall's huge front room so that we're all together tomorrow morning, and there's no way we'd be able to do that if we were all pissed. Also, because the party started at midday, it didn't feel right having too much to drink until everybody left at about ten o'clock.

Everybody sits in a circle and I'm sat with JJ on my left and Harry on my right. We all make sure that we have a near-enough full bottle of beer in front of us (if we did it with shots we'd all end up _hammered_) and then Harry starts to outline the rules.

"Okay guys, for those who haven't played; we'll go around the circle- starting with me- and somebody will say 'never have I ever…' and then something they've never done. Whoever _has_ done that will have to take a swig of beer. We'll just play until everyone gets bored, or until midnight; whichever comes first." I look down at my watch; if we play until midnight then we'll only be playing for twenty minutes. Everybody nods and then Harry clears his throat. "Okay. Uh… Never have I ever… been drunk at a club and been sick outside." He smirks and looks directly at Zayn. Zayn takes a sip of his beer, as do Chloe and JJ. I raise my eyebrows at Jordan and she just shrugs.

"Me next?" I say and Harry nods. "Okay… Never have I ever… worn female clothing." I say the first thing that comes into my head. Chloe and JJ frown and take a sip of their beer… so does Liam.

"Liam?" Zayn says incredulously but we can all see the blush rising in his cheeks.

"Oh my God, I don't even wanna know." Chloe shakes her head and everybody laughs.

"Okay, never have I ever… gone skinny dipping." JJ smiles and looks pointedly at Harry. He sighs and takes a sip of his drink but nobody else does. I start to ask what went on and then decide that I don't want to know.

"Never have I ever had sex in a public toilet." Chloe smirks at Jordan who puts her middle finger up at her Twin and then takes a swig of her beer. I'm about to say "When?" when Harry looks at me guiltily and takes a sip of his drink. _Oh. Ew. _

"Never have I ever kissed somebody that I wasn't dating." Niall says quickly, trying to alleviate the tension. However, it only makes things worse; JJ and I both look at each other and take a swig of our drinks. Harry looks at JJ and does the same. Liam and Zayn both take a sip of their drink whereas Chloe and Niall just look at us all and laugh.

"Never have I ever given somebody a wrong number because I secretly didn't want them to call me." Liam shrugs, obviously saying the first thing that comes into his head. Chloe and JJ both take a swig of their drink, as does Harry.

"Never have I ever shoplifted." Zayn says and nobody takes a sip of their drink.

"Never have I ever had sex in a dressing room." Harry says smugly. Liam and Zayn both take a sip of their drink. So do Chloe and Niall.

"When did you go to one of their dressing rooms, Chloe?" JJ asks. "And how the hell did you do it when there are four other boys there?" Chloe and Niall both blush a deep crimson colour.

"Niall took me to the Kids Choice Awards in the summer, remember? And the boys had all gone out for a drink, so…" She trails off and everybody laughs.

"Moving on…" I shake my head. "Never have I ever been walked in on whilst having sex." Zayn and Liam both glare at Jordan and then take a sip of their drink. Harry and Jordan both look guiltily at me and then also take a sip of their drink. _Again… ew._

"Never have I ever called somebody the wrong name whilst having sex." Jordan says. Harry looks down at the floor and guiltily takes a sip of his drink. I flick him and shake my head at him and he blushes.

"Never have I ever had sex in the shower." Chloe says smugly. Both Harry and Jordan instantly take a sip of their drink, trying desperately to avoid each other's eyes and mine, and I regret agreeing to this. Zayn and Liam look at each other fondly and take a sip of their drink and I just shake my head. _Don't wanna know… _Then the memory of this morning pops into my head and I make sure that I hold Jordan's gaze as I take a meaningful swig of my beer, something that Harry doesn't miss. He frowns and I feel slightly smug; _now he knows how I've felt for the last twenty minutes._

"Never have I ever, uh… _been intimate_ in some way, shape or form with someone of the same sex." Niall says. Zayn and Liam instantly take a swig of their drink. Harry looks over at me and we both blush and also take a mouthful of our drink. I turn away from him just in time to catch Jordan taking a sip of her drink.

"Wait, what?" We both say at the same time.

"Uh… I may have… _experimented_ in college. What's it to ya?" She glares, daring me to say something, and I just shake my head. Everybody else sits in tense silence, all knowing that Jordan gets angry easily when she's had a little too much to drink.

"I didn't know, that's all. It doesn't bother me though." I smile at her in an attempt to calm her down and it works. "And, uh… Harry and I got drunk when we were celebrating after the Brit awards. _Very_ drunk. It was very… _brief…_ and it won't happen again, trust me." I shrug and Harry just blushes.

"So that's where they disappeared to!" Niall whispers to Liam and I glare at him.

"One minute to midnight guys." Chloe cuts in. We all instantly break away from the circle and try to forget that the last twenty minutes even happened. Jordan curls up in my lap, Chloe cuddles up to Niall, Liam and Zayn link hands and Harry gets out his phone and calls Beth.

"It's midnight in five, four, three, two…" Niall says and then looks up from his watch. "Merry Christmas, everybody." There are murmurs of "Merry Christmas" from all around the room and Jordan looks up at me, her green eyes shimmering in the moonlight.

"Merry Christmas, angel." I whisper and kiss her on the lips. "I love you."

"Merry Christmas, Lou Bear. I love you too." She kisses me again and then snuggles into my arms. _What a perfect end to a perfect day._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Well there it is, folks. What do you think? Too fluffy? Tough shit xD please review and tell me what you think, and remember what I said; do I have a fluffy, everyone-lives-happily-ever-after epilogue like in Harry Potter 7 or do I shake it up a bit? You decide! Thank you so much for your support guys and I can't wait to hear what you think! Love you guys xXx<em>**


	27. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

_**Hello 'der! Well, this is the last chapter; just an epilogue after this and then the whole thing is finished. I can't believe it! Thank you so much, all of you, for your reviews and for reading and just… giving me a purpose. Thank you. Hope you like this one; some well-deserved fluff after all of the excessive drama in the past :D enjoy xXx**_

* * *

><p><span>Santa Claus Is Coming To Town<span>

"EVERYBODY WAKE UP!" I'm jolted from sleep by the most annoying person _ever_; Harry. I hear various groans of frustration and then Harry yelps in pain. I slowly open my right eye and see Harry clutching his left arm and Chloe glaring at him, still holding the pillow in her hand.

"You hit me?" He cries in pain. "Bitch!"

"You woke me up. At eight o'clock. Asshole." She replies icily, punctuating the insult with another hit. I hear various chuckles, including mine, and Niall pulls Chloe back down onto the airbed and under the duvet with him.

"But it's Christmas." Harry whines like a three year old and then yelps again when he's hit by a pillow, this time on the head.

"Usually I believe violence isn't the answer." Liam says, matching Chloe's icy tone and making it even scarier. "But this time I'll make an exception." Zayn, the only one who was still asleep, stirs and sits up next to Liam.

"Vas happenin'?" He asks groggily and Louis laughs. I turn over so that I'm on my back and then sit up, pulling a half-naked Louis with me. I now see that everybody is sat up and glaring at Harry, who is conveniently sat in the middle of our little bubble in Chloe and Niall's front room. I look around, individually catching everybody's eyes except Harry's, and convey a signal.

"GO!" I shout and everybody throws their pillows at Harry; everybody except Liam, that is, because he's already thrown his. Harry yelps in surprise and ducks his head but it's too late; five pillows are launched in his direction and hit him in various places on his body. Everybody else falls about laughing and Harry scowls at us grumpily.

"Well a very Merry Christmas to you lot too." He huffs, only causing us to laugh even more. Eventually Harry's dirty look falters and he laughs with us. I jump onto Louis' lap and pull the duvet around us and then play with the waistband of his stripy trousers and giggle to myself; _usually he sleeps naked, but that's not really appropriate whilst the rest of the group are with us too! _I'm wearing one of his old festival shirts (_it's a terrible relationship cliché but I can't help it!_) and some pyjama trousers with cats all over them (_Harry's fault…_)

"Merry Christmas, sweetie." I smile and kiss him on the cheek.

"Merry Christmas angel." He kisses me lightly on the lips and then abruptly pulls me down as a pillow flies past us.

"Uh, what about me?" Harry smiles and taps his cheek. I roll my eyes and crawl over to his airbed (_he's the only one that's got one to himself!). _

"Merry Christmas you bloody annoying child." I kiss his cheek and then crawl back under the covers. There's a chorus of "Merry Christmas" and sounds of shuffling as everybody moves around the room, hugging and kissing people and wishing them a Merry Christmas. I eventually end up back on Louis' lap on the middle of our airbed, cuddled underneath the duvet.

"Okay; do we have breakfast or do we do presents first?" Zayn asks everybody. He and Liam are sat next to each other on their airbed, backs against the wall and hands entwined on top of the duvet.

"Presents!" Harry screams like a child and everybody laughs again. He jumps up and runs across the room, collapsing to the floor in front of the Christmas tree and then glaring at everyone. "Come. Over. Here. NOW!"

"Bloody hell, he's demanding this morning." Niall chuckles at the antics of the youngest member of the band.

"Better do as he says or he'll have a fit." Zayn sighs. He crawls out of the airbed, still gripping Liam's hand, and walks over to the tree. He and Liam sit down next to Harry and the rest of us follow reluctantly. Well, except for Louis; he's been trying to hide it but he's just as excited as Harry is. Louis sits cross-legged on the floor, forming the last part of the circle that everyone is sat in, and carefully pulls me down onto his lap. Harry smiles and eagerly reaches underneath the tree where we have placed all of our presents (_well, all of each other's presents; everybody has been home at some point over the last week… except for me. I have no family left. No siblings, no aunties or uncles (apart from my Dad's brother and I am NOT going there!) and my only living grandparent is my Dad's mum who has never liked me and my Mum's mum, who is a bitch. Bloody hell my family is a mess…)_ Harry pulls out a small box from underneath the tree and reads the label.

"'To my girlfriend. Lots of love, Louis' awww that's sweet." He starts to hand me the box but Louis snatches it out of his hand.

"Nope. Later." He smiles wickedly and places the present out of my reach. I frown but let it go.

"Okay then… 'To Chloe, love from Zayn.'" Harry hands Chloe the package and we watch attentively as she rips the wrapping open.

"Aww, thank you Zayn." She smiles and places the bottle of perfume behind her. Then she leans over and kisses Zayn's cheek and he blushes. I lace my hand with Louis' and watch as more presents are opened; Harry gets some aftershave from me; Niall gets a new watch from Chloe; Louis gets James Morrison's new CD from Harry; and Liam gives Zayn a new pair of high-tops that Zayn has been going on about for ages and a small card. Liam grins when Zayn reads the card and when Zayn looks up into Liam's eyes they both blush deeply. The rest of us share a look of disdain and instantly decide that we don't want to know what that card says.

"Oh, oh, this one next." Liam says enthusiastically when his blush has dispelled. He picks up a stripy package and hands it to Louis. "I know we said we weren't gonna do joint presents but this is from me and Zayn. You'll understand why when you open it." He grabs Zayn's hand and their eyes twinkle with excitement as Louis tears into the present like a small child. When Lou sees what is inside he gasps and nearly drops it.

"You bought me an iPhone?" He says, obviously unsure whether to jump around like a child or feel bad because they spent so much money on him.

"Yeah." Zayn says nonchalantly. "That's why we only got you those ear-phones for your birthday yesterday."

"We know your one is fucked. Plus we thought you should upgrade to the 4, so…" Liam shrugs but I can see the hurt in his eyes; he's thinks Louis doesn't want it. I jab Louis in the ribs and give him a meaningful look.

"Oh my God, I must seem so ungrateful right now." Lou shakes his head and I move off of his lap so that he can go over and hug Zayn and Liam. "I love it. Thank you. I just… you didn't have to spend that much on me!"

"Well, we did share it…" Liam blushes. "It doesn't matter anyway; you're our brother. We can spend however much we want on you."

"Thank you, guys. This is insane." Louis laughs and sits back on the floor. He places the box behind him and pulls me back onto his lap. "I'll sort it out later, I promise, but let's open more presents first!" He motions for Harry to get more presents and then he squeezes my waist lightly. I rest my head in the crook of his bare shoulder and wrap my arms around his neck, watching as everybody else receives their presents.

* * *

><p>"A carrot key-ring!" Louis laughs loudly, opening the second, smaller present that Niall gave him. Niall turns to Chloe and raises his eyebrows.<p>

"I _told_ you he'd like it! Wait, you _do_ like it, right?"

"Yeah, of course; it's really funny." Louis jumps up and grabs his keys from his jacket pocket and then attaches his new key-ring to it. "I just wish I'd never said that bloody thing about carrots now! It's going to stick with me for the rest of my life!" We all laugh and Chloe pulls one of the last presents from under the tree.

"Here's your one from me. Don't worry; it's not carrot related." She hands it to Louis, who smiles gleefully and carefully unwraps the present. Inside is an iPhone case, but not just _any_ iPhone case; it's a Harry Styles iPhone case.

"Oh. My. God." I shake my head and laugh loudly. "Well, that's… well."

"Considering your bromance is still going strong," Chloe laughs at Louis' and Harry's equally bemused expressions. "I thought you should have a reminder of him to keep with you. Always." Everybody laughs and Harry grabs the case and disappears into the kitchen. When he returns he hands it to Louis and grins when Louis laughs at him; he's signed it with permanent marker.

"Merry Christmas, babycakes." Harry chuckles and kisses Louis on the cheek. I swat him away and jump into Louis' lap.

"My boyfriend. Not yours. Get your own." I wrap my arms around Louis' neck possessively and glare at Harry playfully.

"Nah, I'm okay with Beth thanks! Speaking of; I'm gonna go and ring her now." He jumps up, grabs his phone and leaves the room before anybody can say anything, and when he does the whole room collectively breathes a sigh of relief; he'll be on the phone for ages and hopefully when he comes back he'll be less hyper!

"I'll be right back!" I jump up and run over to where my bag is; I forgot to get Chloe's presents out last night. I pick up a card and throw it at her and it lands neatly in her lap. "Yours. Open it. Now." I grab the other present and then turn to watch her reaction. She squeals loudly, making everybody laugh.

"Oh my fucking God how the bloody hell did you get these they're sold out oh my fucking God…" She squeals again.

"Calm down, Clo!" I laugh and she throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my waist and squeezing tightly.

"But they're sold out. How?" She pulls back and grabs my arms, obviously not leaving me alone until I've told her.

"Well, I have a friend who is doing a music work placement- he wants to be a tour manager- and just so happens to be working with Bring Me The Horizon's manager. They always keep back a few tickets just in case so… voila. You now have two tickets for their arena tour with Architects." I smile and she pulls me into a tight embrace again. I gently push her away and place another present in her hands.

"Another one? You didn't have to!" She grins, ripping into the present. When she opens it she gasps and smiles. "Oh wow." It's a framed picture that I took of her and Niall, backstage at the band's performance (_for the second year in a row!_) on The X Factor last month. She's wrapped in Niall's arms and smiling beautifully at the camera, but that's not the best thing about the picture; Niall is looking at her, not the camera, and the love and adoration on his face is dazzling.

"So you like it?" I blush and she hugs me again.

"Of course I do. Thank you." She runs over to Niall and shows him the picture. He smiles and then places the picture above their fireplace where everybody will see it. Then he gives Louis a panicked look before taking Chloe's hand and leading her upstairs. Liam and Zayn curl up closer underneath the duvet and Louis jumps up from the floor. He grabs my hand and pulls me into the kitchen where nobody can see and then kisses me roughly, taking me by surprise. He pushes me against the counter and slips his tongue into my mouth as his hands slip down to my waist. His fingers kneed into my waist as his lips take my breath away and when the loss of air becomes too much, he pulls his lips away from mine and kisses down my neck to my collarbones. I take deep gulps of air and then grab his cheeks and pull his lips back up to meet mine again. The overwhelming passion gradually diffuses from the kiss and Lou sweetly presses his lips to mine once more before pulling away and resting his forehead against mine. I breathe heavily as Louis' eyes slowly lose their dark intensity, my hands still gripping his bare shoulders as if my life depends on it.

"I've wanted to do that all morning." He whispers huskily and I giggle. "Merry Christmas."

"Mmmhh, Merry Christmas indeed." I laugh. He kisses me on the end of the nose before pulling away from me and leaving the room, holding up a hand first as if to say "stay here". When he gets back he has the present in his hand that he took off of Harry earlier. He places it in my hand and notices my panicked expression.

"Don't over think. Just open it." He grins in anticipation as I carefully peel the wrapping paper away to reveal a small jewellery box. Taking Louis' advice into account, I take a deep breath and open the box to reveal two silver bands.

"It's not a proposal," Louis says quietly, his voice ringing in my ears as he takes the rings out of the box. "Not yet. Just a promise." He holds the rings up for me to see and on closer inspection I see that on the outside of one of the rings it says "I'll look after her" and on the other it says "he'll look after me".

"Wow." I'm lost for words. One the one hand it's more adorable cheesiness, but on the other hand it's a sweet and meaningful gesture.

"I was gonna have something like 'Always' or 'my angel' or something like that but I thought it would make more sense just to promise you that I'll always look after you." He looks deep into my eyes and I know what he really means; 'Look After You' is the song that he always sings when I have nightmares or when I wake up in the night, screaming and crying for my mother. It doesn't happen that often anymore, but just after I moved in with him it was nearly every night. "I know it's cheesy and cliché but… you mean so much to me, and if all of these clichés are the only way that I can show you that then it'll have to do." He shrugs and blushes lightly. I can't take my eyes away from his; they sparkle and gleam like sapphires but at the same time they're calm and subdued. I abruptly lean forward and capture his lips with mine again.

"Wow." I say when I pull away. He holds up the ring that says "he'll look after me" and places it in front of my left hand, raising his eyebrows in question. I nod and he places the ring on my middle finger, and then I smile brightly as he places the other ring on his right middle finger. Then he clasps our hands together and we stand still, silently admiring the way our hands fit perfectly and the way the rings glimmer together. "Thank you." I kiss him sweetly and then pull him back into the front room where all of our airbeds are. Zayn and Liam are still cuddled up under the duvet and Harry is sat on Niall and Chloe's airbed, playing on their Xbox. All three of them look up expectantly and, when Louis raises our entwined hands to show them the rings, they cheer loudly.

"So you like them then?" Harry asks cheerfully and I nod. "Good; it took him bloody ages to choose what to get you. Trust me; I had to go shopping with him. Not fun." Harry glares playfully at Louis, who chuckles quietly. Then Chloe comes running down the stairs, tears streaming down her face, and shoves her left hand right in front of my face.

"What the fuck are you HOLY SHIT LOOK AT THAT RING!" I grab her hand and look closer at the simple-yet-beautiful engagement ring on her finger.

"He proposed. Oh my God it was like Friends and he started crying and I starting crying and he was telling me that he knew straight away that I'm the one and that even though we've not been together for that long he wants to be with me for the rest of his life and…" She carries on babbling and I pull her into a tight embrace.

"Congratulations, Twin!" I laugh and hug her tightly. The rest of the boys cheer as Niall walks down the stairs.

"Congratulations mate." Liam smiles, jumping up and pulling a puffy eyed Niall into a brotherly embrace.

"Yeah man, I was wondering how long it was gonna take you to pop the question!" Zayn laughs and joins in the embrace. All of the boys gather round Niall and hug him or clap him on the back, congratulating him. Then the boys all hug Chloe and kiss her on the cheek and I run over to Niall.

"Congratulations, Nialler!" I run at him and wrap my arms around his neck. He laughs and hugs me with so much force that he lifts me off of the ground. I pull away from him and raise my eyebrows. "You're doing this for the right reasons, yes?"

"I love her; what other reasons are there?" He smiles and I smile back.

"I'm the best friend; it's my job to check that you're not gonna break her, okay!" I chuckle.

"You'll help her with this, won't you? I don't wanna add to her stress…"

"Of course I will!" I smile gleefully. "I may as well just plan my own wedding; I'm sure it'll end up being exactly what shewants anyway!" I hug him one more time and then run back over to Chloe. We collapse onto the airbed that I was sharing with Louis and start talking about the wedding.

"Hey guys, why don't we do a twitcam later?" Liam asks, grabbing everybody's attention. "I'm sure the fans would love it, and I'd love to get the chance to say Merry Christmas to them properly!" There are murmurs all over the room as everybody agrees with him.

"How about we start eating at about two o'clock and then do a twitcam at about three?" Chloe asks us and we all agree. Everybody starts tweeting except Louis, who is fiddling about with his iPhone.

"Hey, guys, did you already set up my iPhone?" He asks as he goes through and finds all of his contacts and music and old applications on there.

"Yeah." Zayn smiles. "JJ helped us. Don't ask how. Just be grateful." He grins and Louis turns to me.

"You_ knew_? And you didn't tell me?" He raises his eyebrows and I glare at him.

"It was a surprise. And I am perfectly capable of keeping things from you, okay?" He laughs and pulls me into a hug. "Thank you, angel."

"You're welcome, sweetie! Oh, I have something to do, I'll be right back!" I grab my phone and run into the kitchen. Then what I was about to do hits me and I collapse. That's where Louis finds me; on the floor, phone clutched tightly in my hand and tears trickling silently down my cheeks. He takes my phone out of my hand and places it on the kitchen counter, sits on the floor next to me and then gently pulls me into his lap.

"You were about to phone her, weren't you?" He whispers and I nod silently. He attempts to wipe the tears from my face but they fall too thick and fast for him.

"I'm alone, Lou." I whisper when I start to regain control. "I have no family… No _decent_ family left. Not even my mum. I'm alone." I dissolve into tears and Louis pulls me against his chest.

"You're not alone, angel." He tightens his arms around me and I rest my head in the crook of his shoulder. "You have me, Chloe, Beth and the rest of the boys… And Mum and the girls too; _we _are your family now." He gently pushes me away from him and then wipes the last of my tears away. He brushes my hair away from my face and his hand lingers on my cheek. I close my eyes and lean into his touch and he strokes my cheek lightly with his thumb. When I open my eyes I see that he's watching me with a pained expression.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm a bit much to handle but…" I trail off as he shakes his head.

"Don't be silly; you've had so much to deal with, and you've been so strong. You're allowed to break down every now and then, okay?" He smiles fondly and kisses my lips. He pulls me back onto his chest and we sit quietly for a while, not speaking or moving; just thinking and listening to the sounds of our heartbeats.

"I'm going to marry you, one day." He says quietly and I smile. "And we'll look back in ten years and realise that even though all of this awful shit has happened, we've come out of it stronger than ever. We'll see that, don't worry." I nod slowly and we sit in silence for a bit longer.

"Do you remember that day you found me and made me show you my bruises?" I whisper and we both shiver at the memory. "You said to me; "if I had a daughter I'd love her, not violate her." I think that's when I realised how much you loved me."

"I'd loved you for a while before that." He muses.

"Well, that sentence meant so much to me. It still does." I snuggle closer to him and entwine my left hand with his right one. "But the way you said it… do you want a daughter, Lou?"

"Yes." He says without hesitation. We've talked about lots of things before; our families, past relationships, marriage even, but we've never talked about children before. "I think, especially growing up around my four sisters… Yes, I've always wanted a daughter. I've always wanted to protect people, and I think that a daughter would be the ultimate person to protect. I'd love to have a son as well; to teach him sports, or teach him how to sing, or just watch him become the person _he_ wants to be. But I've always wanted a daughter. Why?"

"Because I've always wanted a daughter too. Well, first I wanted a younger sister, and then that kinda developed into wanting a daughter." I hesitate with a question on my lips, unsure whether it's appropriate to ask it. Then I decide _what the hell _and ask anyway. "_When_ do you want children, Lou?"

"Erm…" It's his turn to hesitate. "Well… I've spent time with Lux, and I helped my mum bring up my sisters and it's made me realise that I want kids more than anything. Like, I'd probably be ready to be a dad now. But at the same time- I know this is selfish but it has to be said- the band is only just starting to take off and I wouldn't want… not necessarily the child to "get in the way" as such, but I couldn't leave you here with a kid whilst I'm jetting off around the world with the boys 24/7." I'm left stunned by what he's said. _He said 'I couldn't leave __**you**__'. That means he wants to have kids with __**me**__. Like, now. Oh my God. _"Plus we're so young right now… You need to finish uni, I need to wait until the band has settled down… Ask me again in a few years and I'll give you a straight answer." He laughs. I'm still stunned by his speech and unable to say anything.

"You want to have a family with me?" is the only thing that I manage to ask.

"Of course I do. Isn't that why you asked me the question?" He raises his eyebrow. "I know we've only been together for a few months, and this all sounds so 'fairytale' and too good to be true, but… when you know_, _you _know, _if you get what I mean? It's you, JJ. It has been since I met you almost a year ago and I'm not going anywhere." He kisses me lightly, but it's more than a kiss; it's a promise. It's a promise of love, a promise of safety and protection, but more importantly; a promise of a _future._

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><p><strong><em>Well there it is. The last chapter. More yucky yet totally necessary cheesyness and fluffyness. Sorry but I think JJ and Lou's relationship really does revolve around cheesy clichés xD Just an epilogue and then it's over! Thank you for all of your support and I hope you liked it! Review and tell me what you think!xx<em>**


	28. Epilogue

_**This is a bloody long one; exactly 6,500 words. I think it's worth the extra time though, so don't be discouraged by the length! Plus there's a bloody long A/N at the end :L So, for the last time; enjoy! xXx**_

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><p><em>Epilogue – Saturday 6th February 2022<em>

_The years passed by like days. Life flashed by, full of happy memories, sad memories, joyous memories and proud memories. I graduated UCL in 2015 with a Maths and Drama Honours degree and now I teach A Level Maths at Epsom and Ewell High School. I'm also heavily involved in the drama clubs and sixth form productions, which means I am making the most of my joint degree and I get the best of both worlds. The boys have gone on to have massive success; they released three more albums in the last ten years which all reached number one in the UK, US, Australia and various other places in the world. They've successfully toured nearly every country in the world and their boyband status is right up there with Take That and Boyzone, but now they're going on a hiatus so they can spend time with their families. All of us live in the Epsom area for several reasons; I teach Maths at the school and Chloe teaches guitar and drums and helps with the productions; the boys are closer than ever and want to stay close; and there's another but I'll tell you later._

_Harry is coming home to his wife of six years, Bethanie Styles, and their eighteen month old daughter, Darcy May Styles. Niall is coming home to his wife of nine years, my Twin Chloe Horan, and their two children: nine year old James Oliver Horan and three year old Alexandria "Alex" Maura Horan. But that's not as bad as Zayn and Liam; they are coming home to their twins Jessica and Jason (Jay), who are nearly four (and, due to a wonderful surrogate mother, Zayn is their biological father). That's the other reason why the boys live so close; I look after the twins when Zayn and Liam are away. It sounds strange, I know, but the boys have only been away for the last six months; they were here for the first three years of the twins' lives, but now Jess and Jay are staying with Auntie JJ for a while. They're a little too young to understand, but at least they know that Zayn is still "Dad" and Liam is still "Daddy". Zayn and Liam have been married since 2014 when gay marriage was finally legalized and accepted in the UK._

_"What about Louis?" I hear you ask. Well, he's got a family to come back to; me and our seven year old daughter, Caroline "Carrie" Alice Tomlinson. "Caroline" because of my mother and "Alice" because that's my Twin's middle name too. We call her "Carrie" because that's what my mum liked to be called, and it's a pretty nickname._

_But now, for the first time since they were formed in July 2010, One Direction can finally come home and spend time with their families without worrying about when they're leaving again…_

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><p>"Jason Craig Malik-Payne, you get your butt back here now!" I laugh as I chase the little rascal through mine and Lou's house.<p>

"No!" Jay giggles and keeps on running away from me, T.V remote clutched tightly in his little hands. I catch up to him and gather him up in my arms.

"Where d'you think you're going with them, ey?" I ask him, still grinning, and balance him on my hip as I head back to the family room.

"I want to watch SpongeBob but Alex won't let me!" He cries, the spitting image of Zayn when he doesn't get his own way.

"They still show that?" I mutter to myself. "Okay, monster, but you have to promise to be nice and quiet whilst Auntie Chloe and I sort dinner out, okay?" He nods solemnly and I ruffle his chocolate hair before placing him on the couch next to his sister. I put SpongeBob on and then put the remote out of everybody's reach.

"When is my Daddy back?" Alex asks me quietly, tugging on my hand. Her blue eyes, which remind me of her father so much, are full of tears.

"Aww sweetie, he'll be home soon, I promise!" I pick her up and hold her tight. "C'mon, let's go and see Mummy, yeah?" She nods and plays with her dark brown hair whilst I carry her into the kitchen.

"What's up, Alex?" Chloe asks her daughter when she sees how upset she is. I pass Alex to her mum and then turn to the oven where a huge hunk of pork is roasting ready for the boys' welcome home dinner; its mouth-watering smell filling the kitchen like smoke.

"You said Daddy was going to be back soon." She says sadly and Chloe and I share a look; we've had this conversation with all of the children at some point. All of them, except for Carrie and Chloe's son James, are too young to understand why their Dads haven't been around for a while.

"He'll be back soon, I promise." Chloe kisses her daughter's brown hair, exactly the same shade as hers, and then places her back down onto the floor. "Why don't you go back and watch T.V with Jess and Jay and I'll come and get you as soon as Daddy's back, okay?" Alex nods and then runs back to the front room. Chloe sighs regretfully and takes a sip of her coffee.

"She'll be okay, Clo. Niall will be back soon and they're not going away for a while." I say brightly and Chloe just nods. I decide to change the subject. "You know what; you can definitely tell that Jay is Zayn's. He's a right pain in the arse!"

"He's not that bad!" Chloe chuckles and shakes her head. I just raise my eyebrow in response and then check on the meat that's in the oven. She's about to say something else when I hear the familiar "ding dong ding dong" of the doorbell. I hold my hand up to her and then head towards the front door. Just as I reach it I see Chloe's son James about to open the door.

"Have you looked to see who it is?" I ask him. We've all said to the kids that they always have to check just on the off chance that it's paparazzi. Most of them have gotten the picture (no pun intended!) that we don't want them around and have gradually stopped trying but sometimes someone does and we don't want the children exposed to it like that.

"Yes, it's Auntie Beth and Darcy." He nods.

"Well what are you waiting for; open the door!" I tease. He rolls his eyes and then opens it.

"Hi, Auntie Beth!" James greets Beth with his Dad's signature smile and I can't help but laugh.

"Hello James." She greets him as she crosses the threshold with little Darcy balanced on her hip. Jamie pulls a face at Darcy, making her laugh, and then runs back up the stairs. I gesture for Beth to go into the kitchen and then close the front door behind her.

"I take it the boys aren't back yet?" She calls back as she walks into the kitchen. "Hey Chloe!"

"Hey Beth." Chloe smiles back and takes another sip of her coffee.

"No, sorry." I sigh as I grab the highchair from underneath the stairs and carry it into the kitchen. "Louis text me this morning… hang on…" I reach for my iPhone and open "Siri" (it's an old feature from and older iPhone but more developed). "Siri, what did Louis text me this morning about their flight times today?"

"Louis said that his flight arrives at twelve thirty and that he would hopefully be home by half past one at the latest." says the automated woman's voice.

"Thank you Siri." I place my phone back on the counter and put the last few things in the oven. "That means that their flight got in forty-five minutes ago, so they should be home any minute now depending on how long they got stuck in the airport. It's only a twenty minute drive from Heathrow." I only know that because I've had to make the journey so many bloody times to say goodbye…

"Good. I'm so excited." Chloe smiles. She has not changed one little bit in the past ten years; she still gets just as hyper and excited when Niall gets home nowadays as she did the first time he left when they first got together. "Do you want help laying the table?"

"Uh yeah, if that's okay? Gemma was round here earlier and she helped me carry the extra table and chairs in, so we just have to put the cutlery and stuff out." I buzz around the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on dinner and making sure that all I have to do is serve it when the boys get back.

"Which Gemma?" Beth asks. "Oh and can I use your microwave to heat up Darcy's dinner?"

"Yeah of course, you should know by now that you don't have to ask!" I smile. Chloe grabs the cutlery from the drawer and walks through to the dining room, which is through an open doorway which means she can still hear us. "And it was Gemma Dance… Well, it's Mora now. I keep forgetting, even though it's been nearly five years. She'll always be Gemma Dance to me."

"Is that the guy that she met at university ages ago? Christian, was it?" Beth asks as she sorts Darcy's dinner out.

"Yeah. She met him through a friend at university who was doing Music with him. They dated for about a year and then kinda grew apart. He joined a band, two years later she met him at one of his gigs and voila; they were married within six months. She brought their two year old daughter Amy Rose with her."

"Aw, I'm so happy for her. I hardly ever speak to her anymore." Beth sighs. "Are things still strange between her and Zayn?"

"No not really. I mean, he and Liam were invited to the wedding, and she used to come and see them when they got back… That stopped after she got married. I think they do still meet up and chat sometimes, especially more since Christian found out that Zayn really only swings one way." I sigh regretfully. "I do still speak to her a lot but this is the first time I've seen her since Amy's christening."

"That's a shame." Chloe calls from the dining room. She walks back into the kitchen and grabs the salt and pepper. I grab the sauces and follow her back to the tables. "I'd say about the same; I never see her either. So much has changed in the last ten years, hasn't it?"

"Yeah it-"

"Mummy! Uncle Harry's car just pulled up!" Alex runs into the room and grabs her mother's hand. I feel my heart soar with anticipation and I rush to the bottom of the stairs.

"Carrie? They're home!" I shout upstairs to my daughter where she's no doubt hidden in her room reading. She's an early learner, just like me, and I taught her to read at an early age just like my mother did in the hopes that she'd be as into reading as I was when I had the time. I was right.

"Yay! I'm coming!" She yells back. Chloe reaches the front door first and swings it open, squealing like a teenager when she sees that all of the boys are slowly making their way out of the car. Chloe picks Alex up and looks around for James but she's too late; he has already run past her towards his Dad.

"Hey buddy!" Niall grins as his son runs at him. James jumps into his father's arms and Niall catches him. "I missed you buddy! You been good for your Mam?"

"Yeah!" James grins, the exact copy of his father. "Look; I lost another two teeth, Dad!"

"Wow!" Niall says enthusiastically, balancing his son on his hip as if he was three, not nine. Chloe reaches him with their daughter in her arms and the family embrace. Whilst this is happening Zayn and Liam rush towards me, hand in hand, and I bring Jay and Jess out to see them. They run towards their dads and as Jay runs into Zayn's arms, Liam picks Jess up and twirls her around. Harry jogs up to me and kisses my cheek.

"Hey babe." He smiles and embraces me quickly yet lovingly, almost like a brother in a rush. "Beth?"

"Kitchen with Darcy. She's on her way." I gesture for him to go into the house and he smiles gratefully. I hear Beth's squeal of delight as she spots him and then I hear Harry say softly "I missed my girls so much. How have you been?" I don't hear her reply though; I'm too focussed on those silvery blue eyes that have kept me sane all these years, no matter where in the world they are.

"Louis." I sigh. Now, all these greeting may seem a little dramatic but us girls haven't seen the boys (well, they're all men now but everybody shall continue to call them "the boys" forever!) we're in love with for six months, save a few weekend trips over to America. They haven't been home and seen their children for six months, so we're allowed to be a little dramatic! Carrie slips her delicate hand into mine and tugs me over to where her father is waiting by the car. The smile on his face is enough to make my heart tremble and I gently pull my hand away from my daughter's. She looks up at me in question and I gesture for her to go over to her father. Without a moment's hesitation, she smiles at me gratefully before running over to where Louis is now crouched, arms open and waiting for her.

"Daddy!" Carrie laughs, jumping into his arms. I watch fondly as she tells him all about the fantastic things she has done while he was away, like winning her school's talent contest (her voice clearly comes from her father, and her Uncle Niall has been teaching her guitar ever since she was old enough to hold one; she's been learning for two years now and she's a natural born musician). He showers her with praise, kisses and cuddles, making sure she realises how proud he is and how much he has missed her. Then the wait becomes too unbearable and I gradually make my way over to where my family are stood. Louis kisses Carrie's light brown hair one more time before she jumps down and goes in search of her favourite Uncle; Liam. Lou and I just look at each other for a while, drinking in the sight of each other; memorizing each other's features and checking that everything is the same.

"Come here." Louis grins fondly and holds out his arms. I fall into them without hesitation and sigh, finally feeling whole again. He looks around to check that everybody has gone inside and then spins me around and pushes me against the car. He leans in and kisses me roughly and I relish in the familiar taste of his lips. My fingers hook into his belt-loops and I pull him closer.

"I missed you." I whisper softly when we come up for air. He rests his forehead against mine in a familiar gesture, one that has become a definitive feature in our relationship.

"You'd think we'd been off to war for a year, not working abroad for six months." He teases. "I missed you too, angel." Angel. Another definitive feature; a nickname that has not changed nor left since Louis wrote that song, nearly ten years ago.

"Good." I grin and peck him on the lips. "And just so you know, you're never leaving again."

"I can live with that." Lou whispers fondly and pulls me into an embrace. I rest my head on his chest and surround myself with his familiar warmth and love.

After everybody has hugged, kissed and greeted each other, we sit the children down at the dining table and then set about plating up everybody's dinner. I go into the kitchen, followed by Liam, Chloe and Zayn; Liam and Chloe plate up their daughters' dinners whilst Zayn does Jay's. Niall sits and watches the kids at the table with Beth whilst Harry finishes feeding Darcy.

"Need some help angel?" Louis asks me whilst I start plating up James' dinner. He places his hands on my hips and kisses my cheek.

"Yeah, please; can you do Carrie's?" I ask. He nods and I take James' plate into the dining room. I place it in front of him and then ruffle his hair.

"Thank you, Auntie JJ." He says and I smile brightly. "Can I start eating now?"

"Yea, of course you can mate." I go back into the kitchen and laugh when I see Louis stood in front of the oven, unsure of what to put on Carrie's plate. He's put some pork on it and that's it. "Oh, give it here." I take the plate off of him and he smiles sheepishly.

"Sorry, angel." I shake my head but can't help smiling. "I'll do my own, shall I?"

"Yup." I carry the plate into the dining room and place it in front of my daughter, who is waiting patiently. "Here you go, baby." She thanks me and then gratefully tucks in. I see that everybody except Louis, Chloe and I are sat down, eating and conversing with each other. I gesture for Chloe to follow me into the kitchen and then smile at Louis as he passes me.

"Want me to wait for you?" He asks.

"No, go and eat; you've had a long journey, and we'll be in in a minute anyway." He nods, kisses my forehead and then goes into the dining room to sit with the rest of his extended family. As soon as we get into the kitchen I sit on a stool and put my head in my hands.

"Okay, what the fuck is up? You've been acting weird all day but there have been too many children around to ask you." She chuckles lightly but when I don't answer, she stops. "What's going on, Jordan?"

"Will you come with me a minute?" I jump up and when she looks confused, I take her hand in mine. "It'll be quite quick, I promise." She nods and I pull her out of the room, past the dining room and up to my bedroom. I gesture for her to sit on the bed and then rummage through my draws until I find the box I'm looking for. I'll give her credit, she doesn't interrupt once; she just sits and waits until I have found what I'm looking for. I open the box and then dump the contents on the bed. She looks up at me in shock.

"What is this?" She asks, gesturing at the ten pregnancy tests that are laid out on the bed next to her.

"What does it look like?" I fling my arms out in gesture and she raises her eyebrows at my sarcastic reply but doesn't comment. She goes through the tests, her enthusiasm growing with every one.

"Oh my God." She says finally when she reaches the last test. "Nine out of ten of them are positive, JJ."

"I know." I sigh. I gather up the tests, put them back in the box and then put the box away. Then I collapse onto the bed next to her and sigh again.

"Isn't this a good thing?" She asks me. "Louis has been going on about having another kid for ages."

"I know… I just… It wasn't planned." I shake my head. Then a thought strikes her and she grabs my chin and gently tilts my head towards her.

"How?" She asks me, her eyes piercing mine. I obviously look confused because she frowns and says "He's been away for six months. How?"

"Oh… you know when I went over just before Christmas so I could see him for his birthday and exchange Christmas presents?" She nods and lets go of my chin. "Well, we went out for a meal, had a little too much to drink and must have gotten too caught up in the moment when we got back to the hotel to… think." I shake my head and she laughs.

"So what's the problem? You'll be a mum again, Lou will be a daddy again and you know Carrie's been wishing for a younger sibling every time she blows her candles out on her birthday for the past four years." We both smile fondly and then I sigh again. "And don't even say you're worried about the pregnancy 'cause you'll be lying; we both know that you had an extremely easy pregnancy and you bloody loved it. So what's the problem?"

"I don't want him to leave again and miss everything." I confess softly. When Carrie was born in September 2014 it was when the boys were on holiday, which meant that luckily Lou was still in London. But after that it seemed like the odds were never in our favour. "Carrie's first steps, first words, the first time she ate on her own, the first time she read a word, her first day of school; he missed them all. And it killed him inside. I don't want him, or me, to go through that again."

"What part of "hiatus" don't you understand, Jordan?" She says exasperatedly. "They're not going to be working for quite a while now, honey. Heck, it might even be ten years, like Take That. But this is exactly why they're doing it; because the rest of the boys saw what Niall and Louis went through and don't wanna do it themselves. And you know what, the fanbase is the same as it was ten years ago, except they're more mature now; they understand why the boys are disappearing and ninety-nine per cent of them are supportive. So stop moping, go downstairs and eat with the family and then tell Louis. Or pull him out, tell him on his own, then tell everyone else. But please don't beat yourself up over this because Louis isn't going anywhere." She finishes her speech, her eyes ablaze with passion and her hands clutching mine, and I start to cry. She sighs fondly and embraces me in a sisterly hug. I sob quietly, cursing myself for being so foolish, and then pull myself out of her arms and stand up.

"You're right. I need to do this. Don't get me wrong; I want this baby. I want him or her so much. And I need to realise that Louis isn't going anywhere." I take a deep breath and wipe my eyes and Chloe watches me with pride in her eyes.

"Glad to see that I'm still the first person you come to." She grins.

"Don't be stupid; fifty years from now we'll be sitting in a home and I'll be asking you what colour Zimmer frame to get." I wink at her and she laughs loudly. "Come on, they'll be wondering where we are." Just as I'm about to walk out of the room I crash into somebody and fall on my bum. Chloe instantly rushes to my side and tries to help me but I resist, squeezing my eyes shut and hoping beyond hope that it's not who I think it is. Unfortunately, the odds are not in my favour today either.

"Come on, angel, up you get." Louis says softly and gently pulls me to my feet. I gradually open my eyes and see the concern carefully, yet not successfully, hidden in his crystal blues. He knows how much I hate being treated like an invalid when I'm pregnant. This only confirms my fears that he just heard our conversation.

"Okay, I'm gonna go downstairs and… check that the food isn't cold. I'll plate you up some, Twin." Chloe says into the awkward silence and then hastily makes her way downstairs and into the kitchen. Louis looks into my eyes for a moment, his hands still gripping my waist, and then a previously well-concealed grin breaks out on his face.

"You're pregnant?" He asks quietly, his grin now infectious. I nod and smile back at him. "And you're definitely okay with this? I mean, I heard your conversation… sorry about that, by the way, but considering what the topic was, I couldn't not listen, could I? But you seemed happier towards the end so I thought-" I put an end to his babbling by clamping my hand over his mouth. When I'm sure that he's not going to speak I pull my hand away from him.

"Yes, I am sure." I place my hands on his cheeks and kiss him softly. He gently spins me around, pulls me right back against him and then places both hands over where he estimates the baby to be. I reach one hand behind me and run it through his brown locks and place the other on top of his.

"This couldn't have come at a more perfect time." He whispers into my ear. "And I agree with everything Chloe said. Well, except once thing; I didn't miss everything. I did get to see videos and stuff. I know that's not the same, but its close. And I know Niall feels the same about James. But now I… we have a chance to do it all again. And do it right this time." He kisses my neck gently and I turn my head towards him so that he can kiss my lips instead. We kiss for a while, just short and sweet kisses, and then he pulls away slightly. He rests his head on my shoulder and we sway slightly, his hands still not leaving their spot on my stomach.

"They're definitely gonna be wondering where we are." I sigh after a while and I feel Louis jaw move on my shoulder as he smiles. "Shall we go and tell them?"

"Already? Are you sure?" I turn around in his arms and place my hands on his cheeks again. He grabs my bum and pulls me closer.

"Yes, I am absolutely sure. But can we eat first? I'm starving. And if you say that I'm eating for two ever during this pregnancy then I will have to kill you. Got it?" I glare at him playfully and he chuckles.

"Got it. And no treating you like an invalid either; you're pregnant, not broken." He says before I can say anything.

"You are well trained." I laugh. I kiss him once more and then entwine my hand with his before leading him downstairs and into the kitchen. There's a plate of food there covered with a tea towel and with a note on the top saying "Twin, we're waiting for you. Clo xx". I take the tea towel off and grab the plate before Louis can try and carry it in for me, and then take it into the dining room. There I see Beth, Zayn, Niall, Harry and Chloe sat at the table waiting for me. Chloe is still eating and Harry is sat with Darcy on his lap. He gestures for me to sit by him and I carefully place the plate down on the table before seating myself in the chair. Louis slides into the one on my other side and through the open door I see Liam sat on the floor playing with his old Toy Story figurines (which are in surprisingly good condition!) with the twins. James and Carrie are sat on the sofa watching T.V and Alex is squashed in between them, leaning her head on Carrie's chest. I smile fondly at the sight and then Louis clears his throat. I look up at him and take a few mouthfuls of my food before emptying my mouth and taking a deep breath. Louis takes my hand that's not occupied by cutlery and entwines his fingers with mine. I see that everybody has started conversations and I seize the opportunity.

"We're having a baby." I say, quietly and abruptly, but it's loud enough; everybody goes silent and stares at me in shock, including Chloe and Louis. Liam doesn't look up so I assume that the kids didn't hear either, which is good; I want Louis and I to tell Carrie on our own later.

"Wow, you wasted no time in dropping that." Beth smiles, still shocked by my random outburst.

"So? I thought it would be easier to just come out and say it." I shrug and carry on eating my dinner. Everybody just stares at me for a while longer and then Harry breaks the silence.

"I am so, unbelievably happy for you mate." Harry smiles; reaching behind me to shake Lou's hand. Then it's like he's broken the ice; everybody starts congratulating us but keeping their voices low. Zayn gets up and goes over to where Liam is sat on the floor with their kids and whispers in his ear. Liam looks up at me and grins brightly, and when Zayn whispers in his ear again he comes over to me and wraps his arms around my shoulders from behind, ignoring the fact that I'm trying to eat.

"I'm so happy for you, babe!" Liam whispers and kisses my cheek. I pat his hand gratefully and then Beth asks the question that everyone's been thinking.

"Erm… how?" She asks, puzzled. "You're so not showing enough to be over six months…"

"Remember when I flew over just before Christmas?" I say and everybody except Lou and Chloe says "oh." and nod.

"So that makes you about two months along. Have you been to the doctor?" Liam asks quietly, still stood behind me. "No, not yet. I was waiting until Lou got back to tell anybody and then I was going to go on Monday. I didn't want to go without him and I only found out last week." I finish the last of my food and then push the plate away from me.

"Right, shall we put a film on for the kids?" Harry asks louder and everybody murmurs their agreement, including Zayn, who is sat with the children. "Oh, that's a point; when do we tell the kids?"

"We'll tell Carrie when you go home, so just do it when you get home I suppose. Everyone's gonna find out eventually." I shrug. Harry nods thoughtfully and then Jess runs into the room.

"Daddy?" She asks, holding her arms out. Liam picks her up and balances her on his hip. "Dad says come and choose a film. But not Toy Story." She looks so sweet and innocent and everybody laughs.

"You're nearly thirty years old and your husband still tells you off for picking old Disney films. Ridiculous." I tease him. He just flicks me on the back of the head and then carries his daughter back into the family room. Everybody gradually disperses back into that room, all offering to clear up and being told to go away by me, until eventually it's only Lou and I left.

"I am so happy right now." He says, absent-mindedly tracing patterns over the small and delicate tattoo on my wrist that says "He'll look after me". I reach over and lightly run my finger over his one that says "I'll look after her" which is on the same hand that still bears the ring he bought me ten Christmases ago.

"So am I." I lean in and kiss his lips lightly and it's the same kiss we shared when he gave me the rings; it's a promise of love, a promise of safety, a promise of protection, but more importantly; a promise of a future.

* * *

><p>"So I'm going to have a little sister?" Carrie asks me. We're sat on the couch in the family room, just after the rest of our family have left. Carrie is sat on Louis' lap facing me and my legs are tucked beneath me.<p>

"Or a little brother." I say, squeezing her hand in mine, and she smiles beautifully.

"I really hope it's a sister. I don't want a brother. Boys are stupid." She says matter-of-factly. Then she hops off of Lou's lap and runs to the DVD cupboard.

"Do you remember when Daisy and Phoebe were about that age?" Louis asks fondly, running his fingertips up and down my arm.

"Yeah! That was when they told me that they liked me more than "smelly Eleanor." I still have that picture in my purse, you know." I smile fondly as I reminisce.

"Do you? That's so sweet! They're off to Uni this year, you know? Phoebe's doing Law and Daisy is doing a degree in Music Tech. I never knew they'd end up so different." He sighs.

"Neither did any of us. I think… I think when your mum died a few years ago it made them realise that life's too short to spend it trying to be somebody else." I clasp Lou's hand and regret mentioning his mum; his eyes fill with tears almost instantly. Jay died on the girls' fourteenth birthday; witnesses said that she was on the way to meet everybody at the restaurant where they were having a meal when a dog ran out into the road. Jay swerved to miss it and at the same time jumped a red light; a truck hit her side of the car and she was dead before the paramedics even got there. Louis was inconsolable; he hid in his room for a whole week straight and refused to come out. He would only let me in and cried himself to sleep in my arms every night. He was so close to his mum; he'd said in countless interviews that she was his best friend, and for her to die so suddenly like that was devastating. Even though he was twenty six at the time, it was like he had become the nineteen year old that nearly cried in a documentary when he talked about leaving her behind. He took a whole week to mourn and then, on the eighth day after she died, he came out of our room, invited his sisters over and promised them that he'd be strong for them. Jay and her boyfriend Dan were married by then and he's raised the girls like his own. But now the last of them are leaving home and the whole family is taking it a little hard.

"Can we watch this please, Mummy?" Carrie runs over to us and shows us the DVD in her hand; our wedding DVD.

"Sure, baby. Can you do put it on or do you want me to?" Lou asks her sweetly. She shakes her head and hands him the DVD, to which he murmurs to me "Thank God we've still got a DVD player." After he's put the disc in and grabbed the remote he collapses down next to me, puts his arm around my waist and then pulls Carrie down onto his lap. She wraps her arms around his neck and sits so that her legs are draped across me and then settles down.

"Happy anniversary angel." Louis whispers into my ear. "Can you believe it's been eight years?"

"Don't, you'll make me feel old." I whisper in reply and he chuckles quietly. "Can you believe it's been exactly ten years since we first met?"

"I know. So much has happened since then." He whispers, his voice filling with nostalgia as he runs his fingers through the tips of Carrie's hair.

"So much drama, tears, pain, laughter, happiness... But we've stayed together through it all."

"Yes we have." He leans in and kisses my forehead, trying to jolt Carrie as little as possible. "But you're still the beautiful broken angel I met ten years ago."

"And you're still the weird and wacky, stripy blur that I met ten years ago." I tease. He's about to say something else when Carrie interrupts.

"You look so pretty Mummy." She smiles, her voice filling with awe as she points at the screen.

"Mummy always looks pretty." Lou says and I still can't help but smile at his corniness.

"Thank you, Lou." I blush and kiss his cheek. Then, as I sit with my family watching the day I became Mrs Tomlinson, I think to myself; what did I do to deserve happiness like this?

But as Carrie's delicate hand clutches mine and Lou traces soothing patterns on my hardly-noticeable baby bump I think to myself; whatever it was, it was worth it.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Well that's it. Over. Done. Finished. Finito. My fic has been strange; it's gone from being so dramatic it's ridiculous to being so cheesy that it's suffocating :L but you know what, I don't care; I've enjoyed every minute of writing it and I'm so thankful to everybody who has stuck with me since the beginning, and everybody who has read it since. Thank you for your reviews, big and small, and thanks to those who read even if they didn't review. This story has given me a purpose for the past few months but now I think that it's time to end it. Who knows; maybe I'll do some oneshots in the future? After my exams I'll have a few months free, so maybe that's what I'll do!<strong>_

_**Big thanks to 1dstyle, resistanceisuseless and DreamsOfATeenager; they've really helped me with my story and have been big inspirations. Heck, if it wasn't for DreamsOfATeenager and resistanceisuseless then I wouldn't have even started writing, and if it wasn't for 1dstyle then I wouldn't have made it through the last few chapters with the story, so thank you guys! (go read their stuff; it's so good! :3) So, yeah, thank you. If you're reading this now, or in days, weeks, months, even years after this last chapter is updated; love you guys!**_

_**P.S: If any of you want to ask me questions about this fic then PM me, or tweet me (JordanStylinson) [if this doesn't work then I've obviously changed it and forgotten to change it on here, so check my bio on this site if you're unsure!]**_

_**DISCLAIMER; I DO NOT OWN ONE DIRECTION, ANY SONGS OR ANY RECOGNISABLE PEOPLE MENTIONED IN THIS STORY. THEY ARE USED FOR NON-PROFITED FICTIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. IF YOUR NAME IS IN HERE AS AN ORIGINAL CHARACTER THEN THAT MEANS I LOVE YOU.**_

_**Thank you all and goodnight :3**_


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